2 Misery's Heart
by reapersama101
Summary: 2. Season 2 of my stories! Ellie Kindy is someone whose never had to deal with much except the occasional school rumble. Now she's got a stamp of bounty on her head all because one company has it out for her; Itex. Be careful what you wish for.
1. New Beginnings

**ITEX INC. REPORT:**

_**NAME: **__**KINDY (L), ELIZABETH (M) RACHAEL (F)**_

_**AGE: **__**14**_

_**GENDER: **__**FEMALE**_

_**SPECIES:**__** HUMAN (temporarily)**_

_**LOCATION: **__**Halo, MI**_

_**SURVEILLANCE REPORT: **_Subject lives on 629, Fifth Road. Daily activities consist of education, socializing, etc. Subject is average in activities; socializes most with **Morgan Castoff.** Gives no sign of acknowledgement to surveillance. Unaware of all activity of Itex operatives.

Monroe Gunderson read over the brief report several times before setting it upon the desk in front of him in his office. "Head of Itex," A voice chuckled as a shady figure entered the office. The boy was of a mere age of twenty two, too young to be an operative and too old to be a subject of importance. The shady figure was in fact Andrew Gunderson, son of Monroe. "Got to be a bit overwhelming," Drew said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. His dry brown hair was combed to a neat shaggy perfection while he wore a black dress shirt over his bare chest and a pair of dark wash jeans along with brown leather and gold belt and a pair of old black cowboy boots. The shirt was opened three buttons to reveal the man's pale collarbone and partial of his crisply shaved chest. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled to his elbows to reveal thickly scarred forearms.

The shirt surrendered to conceal other thick scars all along Drew's back and chest however. Monroe narrowed his eyes at his son before picking up a thin stack of crisp reports, dating all along the past five years and yet scarcely allowed to be revealed. Drew stepped behind the desk, sitting upon the edge of the desk. Drew eyed his father's reports and picked up the first sheet on the thin stack, the latest report, before Monroe could protest. He read over the report, narrowing his eyes over the words. "You're stalking a fourteen year old girl?" Drew scoffed and looked up at his father in disgust. "Hardly; she is potentially great for this company." Monroe protested as he snatched the report from his son. "She is a potential breakthrough for the world, Andrew. She is no average fourteen year old girl." Monroe corrected his son.

Drew narrowed his eyes in pure disgust at his father. He wished nothing more than to rip his father to shreds and yet that just might land him in jail. He could report his father and yet he had no evidence and the second that Monroe discovered Drew's intentions, he wouldn't hesitate in assassinating his own son. Drew knew far too well his father was nothing but scum and yet his vendetta lived on. But with a glance back at the report, Drew felt slight pity for that girl. Not a person in this world would help her.

_**Max's POV:**_

I watched as Iggy slept along with the others. Iggy was second in command ever since…he left. I felt tears prickle at the mere thought of him and I hadn't even though of his name! I frowned at the ground. If we could finish off Itex soon then he could come back early instead of that damn cave he said to meet him at in TWENTY YEARS! I wanted nothing more than to go to Fang and…_Fang. _A tear escaped the corner of my eye and slid down, landing on my black T-shirt. It was a new one, given to me from mom. She wanted me to be happy. Oh, yeah, right! Like I could be happy when my best friend/soul mate was out wandering the Earth and possibly dying a slow painful death. Whoever was controlling our fates, they sure as hell had one sick sense of humor.

I felt my heart twinge in painful agony at just the mere thought of him. That damn bastard. But while I wanted to tear him to shreds, I also wanted nothing more than to run to him, to cry to him, to just have him _here. _But he wasn't here. Fang wasn't here. He was such an arrogant bastard, thinking he knew what was best for me. For ME! He couldn't just support me?

Why couldn't Fang just be…Fang? Why couldn't he just be the stupid supporting jerk that I knew him to be? Why couldn't he help keep us all from dying? Why couldn't he just be silent and invisible and kick-ass? But no. Fang had to be stubborn. He just had to leave. Ask any of the Flock; I haven't smiled a second since Fang left. Ask mom, ask Ella, ask Nudge, ask Gasman, ask Iggy, ask Angel…

And then there was that issue. My eyes darted to Angel's sleeping figure. Angel had betrayed us, killed Fang, stolen my Flock…I don't know how many things she'd done to piss me off. I'm not that good at math; hell, I don't think Einstein was that good at math. Not with as many things as Angel had done. Angel used to be…Angel. She used to be my baby, the one I'd protect most of the Flock. Now she's the one that I'd give up first. The rest are staying. Angel made so many mistakes; she lost my trust so many times. But she was an example. I couldn't trust anyone and I'd made that mistake. I'd made the mistake of trusting _anyone. _Not even my Flock could be trusted. I was sorry to say that but Angel and Fang were both model examples of that issue.

Not a thing could be said. I couldn't tell any of the Flock that I hurt. That was what Fang had been for; he'd been there to comfort me, to be my best friend, to be my soul mate. Now he's gone and he'll never be that again, even when we do get him back. Because we will get him back. It won't be in twenty years or ten, not even five. No, we were going to work our asses off to get him back. We were going to make sure we had Fang back as soon as possible.

I kept my eyes, ears and nose open, searching for any sign of any intruder in the forested campsite. No one came, not even around sun up. Iggy stirred awake, along with everyone else. Iggy blinked his unseeing eyes and I had to remind myself; you can't trust anyone. _**Max, is that necessary? **_I felt myself go rigid at the presence of the Voice in my head. Hee, hee, hee; Voice in my head. I rolled my eyes at the annoying presence. _Very much so, Voice. Or have you forgotten Angel's little Boss act? _I thought smartly back. If a Voice could roll its eyes, this one would. I could practically feel it. _**This is the Flock. Angel is Angel; not your entire Flock. You should learn to trust more. **_Voice answered. I frowned at this and for a second I was positive that if I kept this up then I would get my face in a permanent frown. Ha! Take that, world! _**Fang says 'hello'.**_That was another thing. The Voice hasn't only been contacting me but has also been contacting Fang, apparently, since he's left. That means that my Voice has got a pretty hefty schedule. Wow; if that isn't something a crazy person would think, I don't know what is.

_**He says that he misses you. **_The Voice said to me. My throat clogged up instantly and my eyes prickled madly. But I refused to cry in front of a now-awake Flock. I blinked away the tears and thanked my years of hard work of holding back tears that I had the practice. _Tell him to kiss my ass. _I thought back. I could practically feel the Voice's sigh in my head. Jeez; what is with it these days?

"Max, where are we going now?" Iggy broke me out of my mental conversation and I sighed. "We need to figure out where the main Itex building is. We want a domino effect." I answered. "Nudge, we'll get you to the nearest internet café and you can do your thing. After we've got the location, we're heading to it." I said to Nudge. Ah, Nudge, my chatty little Flock member. I ignored the swell of pride I had after remembering that she was indeed very handy. _No, Max. If you do that, then you'll let your guard down. Be prepared for anything. _I reminded myself mentally as I stood up. I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, away enough from my wings. "Where are we, anyways?" Iggy asked, frowning. I turned to him. "I saw a sign back there; it said we were in 'Halo, Michigan'." I answered him. Iggy gave a stern nod, obviously sensing my bad mood. Ha! Like it was ever a good mood. I don't think I've recognized a single thing as good since Total's wedding.

And with that thought we were off.

_**Ellie's POV:**_

I stuck my tongue out at the faux bitch that stood at the court across from me.

The "faux bitch" was, of course, Melinda Gunderson. Mel's had it in for me ever since I started here at Lincoln High. "Jesus, Ellie; don't make another enemy," Morgan snickered to me as we rotated in the volleyball court. "Hardly; we were never anything other," I laughed to her. "Besides, she can't take my mood. Nothing can! Next week's my birthday," I snickered to my best friend. Morgan rolled her eyes. "Be careful with that; you might just jinx yourself." She warned as she fisted her hands together to be prepared for the volley ball. Hell, I couldn't care less that I was horrible at volleyball; just as long as I got to hit Melinda Hart in the head, I'm all cool! And so I did. The ball headed in my direction and I rose up my hands. It flew away from my hands at impact and thankfully landed gracefully (and hard) against Melinda's head. I have to admit it; I cackled. Evilly. I know how to be creepy and I was using it.

I stood up straight as Coach Gordon blew his whistle. "Bleachers, Kindy!" He called out to me. I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the thick plastic black bleachers. Morgan rolled her eyes at my proud stance as I settled on the higher bleacher. I clenched my knees together (as to not give any of the guys a good look at my dear Screamer) and bent forward, placing my arms against my knees to support myself. What I really wanted to do was fall asleep for the rest of class. But that just wasn't gonna happen with Coach Gordon red-flagging every single badass move that someone cracked against Melinda (even on her own team, hee, hee, hee). While some cronies followed her every hair-flip, all of us norms just absolutely despised her guts. Well, all of us norm girls. The guys all loved her bleach blonde bitchy self. Hell, I was blonde but you didn't see anyone coming up to me and offering sex on a platter. Hell, that was probably 'cause I'd beat their ass or maybe perhaps because I was a norm and not a cheer-cheer hoorah.

Finally I heard a final whistle-blow and I threw my arms up in triumph. "KNEW IT!" I cried out as I watched Morgan make her way up to the spot beside me. She rolled her eyes but still smirked as she took her seat beside me. "Oh, c'mon, honey," I said as I placed a hand against her sweat-covered shoulder. "It's only reasonable." I said nodding slowly as if this was a child I was talking to and not a sophomore who was a year older than me. Well, in Bitch Status this was a girl who had child standards. She wouldn't dare be mean to a single person unless it was absolutely, world-saving necessary.

"Oh, quiet; I only did it because she was asking for it. Have you seen her flip her hair for Todd Moscow like it was her finger to a construction worker?" Morgan scoffed in disbelief. I laughed at her comment, leaning back boldly against the bleacher behind me, letting my bright yellow Lincoln High gym shirt ride up to reveal my pale navel on my bony stomach and allowing my C-cups to be boldly pronounced. I closed my eyes in sheer delight at the comfortable position until I heard a cough that sounded distinctly like "slut". I laughed aloud at that. Morgan was just about boiling over. Then I coughed a word that sounded distinctly like "hypocrite". I heard a shrill scream of outrage then the distinctive sound of stomps out of the room.

"Does she really have any room to talk?" I asked as I stood up, sighing in defeat at my lack of comfort. I fixed my short blue Lincoln High gym shorts on my way out. "Not an inch," Morgan answered as we headed out to the girl's locker room. I took an optional shower and washed myself in the stall before changing into my regular clothes; a pair of jeans and a black V-neck t-shirt. I saw my image in the shower and frowned as I saw just what exactly I looked like. At 5'3, I'm not very tall. And not many brands make jeans for short people so my jeans pooled around my high-top clad feet. My shirt exposed my pale collarbone and my bare white arms. My wet hair practically blended in with my skin at how pale of a blond it was and yet had a golden tinge to it. My smoky blue eyes were what people considered scariest and yet most alluring about me. Of course, I was short and yet I could pass off as a short adult.

I smiled at the mirror, watching as my pale pink lips curved up into a cat's curl type smile. I never ground my teeth so I had perfect white canines. But in a school of abnormally beautiful people, I was merely average. I shook out my wet blond hair, spraying drops of water around me. I grabbed my backpack from my locker and made my way out of the locker room. At the next bell, I'd be home free. It only took a few seconds of waiting for the electronic bell to beep loudly.

I freely ran down the hall to the front doors and out. With that burst of sunlight, I was home free.

**Next Day:**

One punch to my face and I was just about ready to kill this bitch. And trust me, I tried. I openly scratched at Melinda's face. "That is IT, bitch!" I shouted at her and took a step back. She smirked, as if triumphantly, probably thinking I was backing down. But no. I took a running leap and ducked down, butting my head into her stomach. She let out an audible "oomph" before hitting the ground. You could describe my series of punches as one of those exasperatingly refreshing moments. You know; the moments where you try new things and you just feel that rush, that awkward and yet free moment where you think you might be messing up and yet you're doing perfectly well.

Well, I knew I hadn't done well enough when Melinda rolled us over and took her aim at my face. It only took a few seconds of hesitation before she started off her series of punches. I heard a quiet snap as she broke her nails against my face. I growled and rolled us over again, pinning her with my hands against her shoulders. I kicked my knee up into a place where it hurts, even for a girl. She let out a half-agonized, half-outraged _screech_ as my knee made impact. Never gonna have kids, sweetie. And I know that was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have even taken her bait. But she started things and she took things so far, it was only asking for this. She hit a spot where the sun don't shine; she hit Morgan.

And Morgan didn't hit back. So it was either watch as my best friend was beaten to a blood pulp or take action. Guess which one I chose. If you guessed I took action, then _ding, ding, ding_ to you. You guessed the obvious answer. "BITCH!" She screamed as she rolled us over again. I was pinned to the ground with her damn slut-bag body on top of mine. She scratched and clawed at my face then reached back and began punching me in the stomach. When she was through with being on the ground she got up. My nose was gushing and I had several cuts on my face, oozing the disgusting rust-scented liquid. But Mel wasn't done.

"Hold her up, guys," Melinda demanded of her cronies. One of the girls actually _whimpered _but one glance at my state was enough to tell her to comply or die. The two crony girls picked up my slumped form from the ground and don't think I didn't see that puddle of blood on the ground. No, I definitely saw that on the linoleum. What really made me sick…was she made the teachers afraid. The teachers were around, watching in fear as this BITCH took her action against me. Any one of them could probably take her and yet they were around. And you want to know why? Because her daddy had money. Her daddy was a big Itex CEO. That mother fucking son of a bitch was what made this entire world fear! He was the fucking BOOGEY MAN!

So not only did I have a pure vendetta against Melinda but I also had one for her dad; Monroe Gunderson. He was an asshole who had been sued once by his own SON for abuse and had won. He'd been claimed clean by the judge and his good-ass lawyer and his fake lack of evidence and damn excuses for the SCARS on his own SON'S back. That damn ass son of a bitch deserved worse than Hell and Mel was going in right after him if not before him. As soon as the girls picked up my bloodied form I couldn't help it. I laughed aloud. I don't know how I'd kept all my teeth in but that didn't mean that my mouth wasn't literally leaking blood.

"Daddy's little girl, ain't ya," I laughed to Mel. She paused with her fist raised high, aiming for a killer. "Your dad's an abusive son of a bitch and a killer and you're about to take his example. You're just one bitch after the other." I scoffed in disgust. The only person in her family that I approved of was her brother, Andrew Gunderson. He'd been the only one to fight his father. Mel was just a dumbass bitch, ready to take over the family business. Melinda's eyes grew hard and cold in their hazel blood-surrounded stance and she took that killer punch. It didn't kill.

Melinda tried, punch after punch until finally the principal cut in. By then I was seeing spots. I didn't care if I fainted. I just wanted this. I snapped my arms out of the crony girls' grips and snarled at Melinda. With that I punched her in the face. She went skidding and stumbling backwards, right into the white painted brick wall of the school, missing the lockers by an inch. I didn't care if I was considered a murderer; I just wanted to kill this bitch.

I punched Mel's head into the wall, watching as blood spattered behind her cracked skull. Oh, hell, she did the same to me. Why the fuck shouldn't I with her? Melinda cracked a wicked laugh before my last punch and I paused, humoring her. "And you think you're so much better? You're nothing but a nobody, Rachael. You're nothing at all. You're just dust, scum!" Melinda spat. Oh, hell no! Nobody gets to call me Rachael. I took that punch. I gave her that one last punch.

While half of me was angered that it wasn't enough to kill her, half of me was relieved. Melinda clutched onto her bloodied face. So neither of us died today. But I think we got all our issues out. Nope; wait; I still have issues with her.

**September 19****th****, five days before my birthday:**

It was five days before my birthday that I noticed it. It had been purely by mistake. I mean, it sure as hell had. I had been playing in the tennis court across from my house on the Saturday that it was. Morgan was across the net and I'd hit the ball a little too hard. As if it wasn't enough that my arm still hurt as hell from my fight with Mel, the ball also went soaring over the fence, directly over to the van that had been parked by the court, across the street from my house. I still had both eyes black and several scratches all along my face. I had multiple bruises everywhere on my body seeing as I had only gotten out of the hospital just yesterday. But whatever. It was only one night in the hospital.

My hair was tinged a bit orange from leftover stains that I couldn't get out no matter how many showers I took. I had multiple stitches in my head and I was meant to wear a bandage around my head but I refused to. I was wearing my pair of blue Lincoln High gym shorts and a black tank top, just to show off my battle scars. I was wearing a pair of black flip-flops though because we were still recovering from summer heat waves.

But like I was saying; the yellow ball soared over the fence before landing in the car's passenger seat; after breaking the window, of course. I frowned. "Let's play _How Much Trouble Can _You _Get Into In One Week." _Morgan announced, holding a fake microphone up to her lips. "First and only contestant; Ellie Kindy!" Morgan joked and made a fake distant cheering-like noise. I shot a glare in her direction and she held up her hands in faux surrender. I cackled evilly and winked before heading in the direction. I exited through the space in the fence and headed to the van. "Ah, fuck!" I shouted as I noted the label on the back of the van. Morgan was by my side in an instant, letting loose a dramatic low whistle. "Itex? Man, how much can you screw with Itex in one week?" Morgan chuckled. I rolled my eyes and headed to the passenger seat. "It's just a standby van," Morgan announced. I turned away from the broken window and raised an eyebrow. "It's been there for as long as I've known you," Morgan said with a shrug. "Don't think I haven't noticed. It's probably from the electrical branch; the neighbors have issues." Morgan said. I nodded.

"But just in case, let's leave a note of apology." I said, looking over the van. "Then run," I added with a nod to my own plan. Morgan rolled her eyes. "Let's check what branch it is so that we can call later and ask if it's alright." Morgan said. That might've been the smartest sentence that's come out of her mouth in this whole day. I nodded my compliance before heading to the back of the van. Morgan pulled open one door of the van and peered inside. I instantly saw her body go rigid. "What is it? What's in there?" I asked. Morgan cautiously backed up away from the van, still frozen in her bent-over position. "I don't think we were supposed to see that." She whispered. I frowned at her before going to the door she'd peered through.

At first I wasn't really shocked at what I saw. It was just a basic van. But then my eyes adjusted to the dark tint of the van. And then I was shocked.

All around were stacks and stacks of tapes. But those were only in the back. At both sides of the van were thin plasma screens, LCD screens. And below the multiple screens were neat panels, filled with a selection of buttons, knobs, levers, etc. There were seats behind the panels, bolted to the floor and yet able to swivel. Then I saw what were on the screens.

I pulled myself into the van and took a seat in one of the chairs. I blinked at the scenery in front of me. This was…different. It was so out of my normal league it was difficult to explain. Morgan joined me seconds later. "I told you, I didn't think we were supposed to see it." Morgan breathed in disbelief as she sat in the seat behind mine. I frowned at her but didn't look away from the screens. "I know we weren't." I responded as I glanced over the screens.

Each screen showed a room in my house. One screen showed how my mom was washing the dishes in the kitchen. Another showed how my dad was watching TV in the living room. And sadly, there were multiple screens from different places in my room. I was so disgusted right now that I could barely register it. "Damn it," I growled as I looked over the screens of my rooms. "It's kind of obvious that you were the one that they were stalking." Morgan informed me. I frowned at this as I whirled the chair around to look over the screens on her end of the van. I frowned even more so as I looked over the screens. Sadly, there were cameras in the bathroom. They've seen me in every single move. And finally there was an entire row…dedicated to my classrooms in the school. They were each in my classes, then a few in the cafeteria.

"What's this all about?" Morgan asked me. I shrugged. "I don't know. Why would they have surveillance on me?" I asked her, prying my eyes away from the screens for the first time since I'd laid eyes on them. "I don't know but let's go before whoever gets back." Morgan told me. I nodded before heading over to the passenger's seat. I picked up the ball from the pile of glass and quickly left the van. If anyone asked me at that moment what I wanted to do with that information, I would say I wanted it in physical form so that I could beat the people with it. No; I'm lying. I would really be thinking that I wished that I had never seen it. I wished that I had never seen that people were watching my every move, that I would never have a private moment, that I possibly never had.

"Let's pretend we never saw this," I said quietly to Morgan, now beginning to wonder if they had microphones all around. Morgan nodded, but blushed nonetheless. I sighed and reached up, running a hand through my hair and wincing as I jostled my stitches. "C'mon," I said and led Morgan back over to the tennis court where our rackets lie. For the rest of that day I ignored it. For the rest of that day, I didn't think about the van. I didn't think about the van that could possibly have every single moment of me naked in there, printed on film. I didn't think about how there were people from Itex stalking me. **I'm lying. **

**September 20****th****:**

My eyes kept darting to the areas that I knew there were cameras hidden. But I refused to admit that there were. I worked hard to resist going over and pummeling the cameras to little electronic bits. I worked hard not to give any sign that I knew there were cameras in my room, in my house, in my _bathroom. _

I felt my eyes dart to the window of my room for the sixtieth time that day. I needed to get out of here, but would they follow me? I frowned to myself. Had they seen Morgan and me go into that van? No! I refused to let this ruin my birthday week. I had four days until my fifteenth birthday. I would no longer be the youngest freshman in the school. I would be the same as everyone else. I refused to let the small fact that I was being stalked by a multi-billionaire company ruin my coming of fifteen years of age. I suddenly heard my cell phone ring but it sounded distant. I walked over to the nightstand where the phone was but I paused in front of it. I snatched up the phone and headed to the door of my room.

I needed to get to Morgan's house. I needed to be with my best friend and see if I was right. I needed to know my best friend was right there. So I got out of the house within minutes; a new record for me. I jogged down the street, passing the school on my way. I avoided eye contact with the building. There were cameras in there. Were there more vans around?

I didn't want to know. I didn't want this to ruin my birthday. I ran all the way to Morgan's house from the school, which was the area that I panicked in. I knocked on the door, pounding my still-bruised and cut fist against the door. Morgan's mom answered the door, her angry expression instantly relieved when she saw me. "Is Morgan here?" I asked. I couldn't stop the panic that was entering my voice. And I felt my body go rigid when a single thought hit me. _Even if my birthday is this Friday; I'll be prepared for that. _I thought to myself. I gulped down the nervous knot that had blocked all words. "Is everything alright, Ellie?" Mrs. Castoff asked, sounding worried. I frowned at her then shook my head. "Nope; just worried about my birthday presents." I answered, lying slickly. It's always been a talent, lying has. I gave an easy smile, trying to forget. Then I remembered the red Blackberry in my hand and my eyes darted to it. "I was just wondering if she could help me with a malfunction in my phone." I said and held up the phone easily.

Mrs. Castoff nodded and stepped aside to let me in. "She's in her room," She said. "I'll call her down." She said and was about to call to Morgan when I stopped her. "No, thanks; I'd rather take care of it in her room." I said and headed to the stairs that led to the second floor. The second that I came to the second door on the right, I flung it open then shut it quickly behind me. Morgan looked up from her text book, obviously shocked to see me. "We need to figure out if it's bugged," I said to her and tossed my cell phone on the bed. "If it is, then so are the rest of my phones and we can never speak on an electric line of copper again." I said to her and came to her side.

Morgan snapped her text book shut and eyed the Blackberry that now seemed like a poisonous acid on the bed. It was just as much unwanted. Morgan nodded and jumped up from her bed. "My phone breaks down all the time, the damn dinosaur," She reminded me as she pulled open a drawer in her desk. She pulled out a small clear plastic box, full of knots of metal and screws and screw drivers of sorts. She flipped open the box on the floor and grabbed my phone from the bed. I fell to her side on the floor, taking small, unnoticed breaths to calm me down. I would not let her see me panicking. I blinked, suddenly exhausted. I really just wanted to sleep, knowing that I wasn't stalked, watched.

Morgan used a screw driver to pry the top off of my cell phone. I flinched as I heard a crack as it was flung across the room. "Well, at least we'll never be listened in anymore," Morgan offered apologetically. I shrugged, gulping away the angry spit I had instinctively prepared. I looked down at the pad of electronic wires on the green chip. Morgan hissed in a breath. "We can never talk on the phone again." She whispered. I frowned up at her. She pointed to a small red chip on the phone. "What? That's been there ever since I had the…" I said, trailing off as I realized what that meant. "How long have they been listening?" I screamed out, letting my panic and anger overtake me.

"That's just BULL!" I screamed and reached up before remembering my stitches. "Damn it!" I cried out. "This means they've been listening in for over three years." Morgan said and swallowed what I'd believe to be bile. We've talked over the phone and the things we say are not meant for anyone to hear. They were PRIVATE! "We need to figure out why they want to observe you." Morgan stated calmly. But I could see the panic in her face, the panic in her eyes. "I have no clue but those sons of bitches will get what's coming to them when I get my hands on them." I growled threateningly. But somehow I refrained from grinding my teeth. I wanted to have these canines. They could be useful.

**September 21****st****:**

Today was the first day that I had school after we discovered I'd been watched. I wanted nothing more than to kill these sons of bitches. I wanted nothing more than to kill them and make them pay for being sick and disturbing. But then there was the other issue. The issue I had to be prepared for in case it happened. I had to be prepared for—

"Turn to page 354 in your text books, please," Mrs. Rodriguez stated as she flipped open her teacher's edition of the text. Poor Mrs. Rodriguez; she had no clue that her class was being observed this very second.

I flipped to the page of my text and looked over the page. I didn't see any of the words though. No; instead my mind was with that camera that was hidden somewhere in this classroom. The girls behind me were still gossiping about my fight with Melinda. How we didn't get suspended was a mystery. No, wait. The principal probably thought it was fair if we both got equal punishment and seeing as Mel couldn't get suspended or expelled, I had to have the same. I couldn't as long as the fight was with Mel. But I wasn't gonna push that. I had to be a good little girl. Mel was in the back of the room, sulking over the fact that she hadn't gotten away with murder because I wasn't dead. She was trying to glare holes in the back of my head and oddly I felt it. But my mind was with her father.

It was her father that was stalking me, no doubt. But why was it that he was stalking me? Was it that Mel had tattled on our relationship to her daddy? Was it that Mel had said I was a bad person; that I'd been "picking on her"? Or was it for an entirely different reason? I desperately wanted these answers that I couldn't get without risking everything. I couldn't get these answers without risking exposing that I knew too much. And if I knew too much, then these people would no doubt take drastic measures. Those were never good measures.

I forced my eyes to focus on the first word. "The" was all that I could see. I couldn't read the rest. Morgan cleared her throat subtly (sarcasm there) from beside me and nodded to the front of the room. I looked at the whiteboard to notice that there was an assignment scrawled on the board in the red erasable marker. When did that get there? I quickly reached into my backpack before pulling out a notebook and opening it to a blank page. "Rachael, would you please read out loud the first sentence?" Mrs. Rodriguez asked. I frowned as I looked up at the teacher.

She was a beautiful, young teacher. She had tan, caramel colored skin and glossy black hair, pulled back into a bun. She wore a gray pencil skirt and a white oxford blouse along with her shiny black pumps. Her brown eyes were kind and the type that made you love her instantly. She was also kind. She chose that sentence so that I wouldn't have to pick up where someone else left off. She'd seen me distracted. I read aloud the first question before turning my eyes to my blank sheet. "Thank you, Rachael," She said with a soft smile. I nodded absently, blinking my tired eyes. I'd been feeling exhausted ever since the van incident. But I haven't been able to sleep properly, knowing that someone would be watching me toss and turn. I couldn't sleep, knowing that I might give away my knowledge in my sleep. Being watched, being stalked is not as fun as you'd think.

It's rather stressful, in fact. I didn't like it and quite frankly I regretted ever thinking of myself as a norm. I missed being a norm, being unseen. I missed being invisible. I was more watched, more abnormal than anyone in this class. I was the one that was most seen. I missed it all.

**A/N. **I apologize for such a short chapter (or at least it's short in my eyes). And I'm sorry this is my first story in _**Season 2**_ of my stories. I want everyone to go to my profile for the explanation on that if you haven't already. If you haven't been keeping up with my account, then here's the deal; I am making a new season of stories. I've decided I want a name for Season 2 of my stories so review me some answers.

_**I don't own Maximum Ride.**_ And please, just review me.


	2. Misery's Pain

**September 22****nd****:**

I frowned as I stared in front of me. I was in the basement of my house, staring at the old gym my dad had set up years ago. It was basically nothing but it had been where my dad had taught me self-defense. _Do they have a camera here too?_ I wondered briefly. I mentally berated myself for not checking. I'd been in shock, though! I just found out that I had people stalking me from a very high-tech, very big company. Itex was worldwide and yet the main Itex was only a few cities over, down in Ohio but close enough. "Rachael? What are you doing here?" Dad asked as he came down the steps. I frowned up at my dad. "I decided I want to work out some more." I answered him. I hadn't been in this gym in a while so it might seem odd that I was down here all of a sudden.

"That fight with Mel made me realize, I don't really have any excuse to not be fit." I said. But then again, I'd won. Well, not really seeing as Mel was still alive. No one really won; it had been a fight to the death and no one was dead now. It was a tie. Dad frowned. He never did find my excuse for Mel's and my fight (that she started it) acceptable. "You know that I don't want you fighting, right?" He asked, sounding a bit gruff and a bit concerned. "Yeah, I know; it's just self-defense, dad." I answered and turned back to the sandbag that stood in front of me. I reached up and placed my hand at the base of the chain, tugging on it to test the strength of the chain. Even my strongest pull couldn't bring it down. It was alright. "You almost died in that fight, Rachael." Dad reminded me as he went over to his section of the basement. My dad was part of the NRA and found it amusing to keep his guns down here.

"And?" I prompted, pretending he didn't have a point. But dad did. And that was what worried me. "This is to make sure that I don't die, dad." I pointed out. "I don't want anyone else dying either." Dad said. I frowned and yet didn't turn to him. I wanted to keep my eyes on the sandbag so that I wouldn't break down and tell him that we had cameras hidden all over the house. "I'm not going to kill anyone." I lied. I was definitely going to kill Melinda one day whether it is in a week or in ten years. I knew she was silently promising herself the same thing about me. It was the only thing we agreed on; one of us was going to kill the other. And while I had to admit she had a fair chance of killing me, she had to admit I did too. It was all a cat; a tie. We were even.

"Melinda may be…well, in a word, evil. But that's no reason to go off and get into a fight with her." Dad said sternly. I laughed aloud at that and actually snorted. "Right. She punched Morgan, dad." I said, telling him the piece of information that he had never known. Dad was silent. "And she didn't punch back." I stated cleanly as I pulled my short, chin-length hair into a stubby ponytail. "You never told us this," Dad stated. I snorted again at that as I lifted my fists, my left in front of my right. I wasn't sure if that was the correct posture but I didn't care. "Why didn't you tell anyone this?" Dad asked. "Because there were hundreds of witnesses, dad," I replied as I shot the first punch at the bag. "They should've said something but they didn't. No one stepped forward 'cause they're all pussies." I replied bravely. While I thought that dad would scold me for calling them all pussies, he didn't. Dad was just quiet. "Morgan's a quiet girl. She would never punch someone unless she believed it'd save the world." I told dad. "And so it was either watch my best friend die because she couldn't defend herself or jump in and finally get the stress of knowing Melinda Gunderson off my chest." I scoffed. "Everyone's wanted to punch her. But they're all cowards; I'm not a coward." I informed my dad.

I could practically hear dad's frown in the air and yet I didn't say a word. I just punched the bag in front of me. I punched it, kicked it, hit it over and over again. I just didn't respond to dad. I just wanted to get everything off of me. I just wanted to pull out the stress of knowing I was stalked, knowing that Melinda Gunderson would run free, knowing that this world was not what I used to see it as a week ago. I wanted it all gone.

**Fang's POV: (le gasp!)**

I watched as the children flew in the air. Each of their wings flapped heavily in the wind. Each of them needed discipline. Each of them needed to know how to survive. _**Max wishes you well. **_The Voice said abruptly. I jumped for a second, still not used to having a freaking VOICE in my HEAD. I get now why Max always hated it. It hurt like hell.

_I doubt that. _I replied. No; Max wouldn't wish me well after I left her. She would probably say something inappropriate then go jump off a cliff. Then fly. _**You two truly know each other. **_The Voice chuckled. I rolled my eyes; could Voices even chuckle? _**You should return to them. Max is in great pain. **_The Voice said. I frowned at this. I couldn't go back just yet. I might go back before the twenty year mark, might find them before that. But I wouldn't go back now. Not while Itex was still at large. I couldn't hold her back like that. She would be too distracted. _**She is distracted now. **_The Voice replied to my private thoughts. I growled involuntarily at the Voice and the Flock in front of me stopped. There were three of them. Two boys and one girl. They were each the same age; eight years old. I had found them hiding in a cave on my travels in Washington's beaches. The first boy, the leader before me, was named Rex. He had been strong and had made choices that even Max would've found hard. That was his downfall; he made them too easily. Max would've thought them over, just as she should. Choices such as who to trust. Thankfully it had been me they had to decide on, instead of an Eraser in disguise.

After Rex was the girl; the second in command. She was more like Iggy in a way, always cracking jokes. But unlike Iggy she was too distracted on keeping the mood light and didn't have enough attention paid on situations like watch. Her name was Skye. Then finally, the third boy and the one that I've grown fond of; Tiger. Tiger was, in a way, like me. And yet his reasons for being silent were more of shyness. He'd been so abused in the Institute that he had no clue as to whether he should have his own free will. Tiger was strong and yet shy. Scars showed he was the one who'd been most abused, possibly even more so than I had ever been. It was sad because he was the most willing and Rex had told me it'd taken a lot to get him to escape, that he didn't want to get in trouble if they got caught. But after a while he had given in.

Each of them were different in a way and yet all the same; abused, hungry, strong and determined.

_Max should be more concentrated. She needs to take care of the Flock. _I thought back to the Voice. That same migraine came along and pulsated every time the Voice spoke. But I was slowly getting used to it. _**She doesn't trust the Flock.**_ The Voice informed me. I froze, feeling my body go rigid in the air. Had she taken it that far? Had she taken it so far that she didn't trust the people she'd cared for, though of as children, thought of as _her _children? Had Max taken it so far that she was so unwilling to place trust, even in Iggy? Iggy, the one who'd been loyal to us. He'd been the one most reluctant to join Angel's Flock. Ah, that was the reason most likely to get Max to be so untrusting; Angel.

_**Itex is planning a new move. **_The Voice informed me. I frowned at this. That was another issue; should I help them? Should I help the Flock take down Itex or concentrate more on the Flocks, more on the escapees? I shouldn't take on too much and yet I couldn't abandon the Flock completely, even if I wasn't there with them. _What are they planning? _I thought. _**There is a new target; a person with a rare type of blood. She is a hybrid, even in human-form. They've been observing the target for years now and they are plotting to capture her soon. **_The Voice said. Wow; that must've been the most information the Voice has ever given that hasn't been vague or non-descriptive. But my mind went to the new target. It was a "she" as the Voice mentioned so it was a girl. And she obviously wasn't a newborn if they'd been watching her for years. But a hybrid? Even in human-form? That was beyond their status quo. That must've been hard to find.

_**Ellie's POV: September 23**__**rd**__**:**_

The countdown was getting closer. Only one more day until my birthday. I felt a sort of dread; that was maybe because I wouldn't have any excuse to fight that hopeless feeling I had that was fighting through my birthday thrill. Tomorrow was my birthday and after that, my body and mind had no reason not to be depressed. I wanted to drag this feeling on, to keep it here. I wanted to stay happy. But even now in my birthday thrill, I couldn't help that feeling of hopelessness. My eyes kept on snapping to Mel, who was still staring at me even after the fact that it was almost a week since the fight. We all still had raw cuts and bruises.

The feeling of being freshly beaten was still on our skin. We were both still determined to kill each other. I was going to kill her one way or another. You might find this odd; that a person is so determined to kill another person at just the age of fourteen, maybe fifteen. Hee, hee, hee; I have a reason to be. The bitch tried to FUCKING KILL ME! I had so many reasons to be mentally ill that it wasn't even funny; nope, I lied. It's still funny. I find it kind of funny that people are stalking me, trying to kill me and then other people are being extra nice to me and trying to keep ME from killing other people. Finding the humor in the situation was the only thing keeping me from screaming for days on end from the pure panic and stress I was feeling right now.

"I'm going to kill you," Mel mouthed to me. I laughed aloud at that and seeing her blush at my reaction was the best thing ever. Well, other than the feeling I'd get when I actually hear her heart stop beating. "Right back at ya," I mouthed to her. She scoffed in disbelief before I turned back to my paper at my desk. That was pretty comical, ya know? I mean, there are things I wanted to do that were pretty gory to Mel and yet when she puts like that, I just had to laugh. Thank you, Mel. You just made my day.

**September 24****th****: my birthday:**

The first thing I remember was opening my eyes to a brand new day. Then I had a foggy memory of waking up before and having gone to the bathroom then going to bed again. Wow; that was a random thing. Then I heard a squeal. Mom was in my bedroom door in an instant, holding a tray in her hands. Birthday breakfast; it was a tradition ever since my older brother, Josh. Josh's been in college for the past two years and he's all out so I was grateful that he wasn't being observed like me. Then again, he could be. He could be being observed this very instant. "Rachael! Happy birthday!" Mom squealed. I frowned at my mom in the doorway. Thoughts of my stalker, thoughts of Melinda bombarded my mind. And I no longer had that determination to be happy; I was finally panicked. I was feeling panicked of when—

_Hiss! _No; that sound was more prolonged than a single hiss. My mom was confused while I searched around on the floor. I couldn't see much anymore, there was too much smoke and fog. Mom started coughing. "Rachael! Get out of there!" Mom coughed as she exited my room. I sat up straight in my bed, realizing the smoke was coming from the floor. Then I realized what was happening; they were making their move.

I spotted the bright yellow canister on the floor, feeling the smoke overwhelm me. I quickly scrambled to my feet, still in my pajamas. I had been wearing a pair of black boxer-briefs and a black camisole as to not cover up my scratches and scars. I scrambled to my feet, feeling my head bob from side to side. I barely registered the small pains in my feet that signified that I had stepped on the glass from my window. "Damn it," I growled as I picked up the hissing canister. I drew my arm back before tossing the smoking canister out the window. I would've laughed when it hit someone's head had I not been so concerned with why there was a person's head so close to my window. The windows on either side of my bedroom both crashed inwards and I held up my arms to shield my body from the clattering glass shards.

I blinked tiredly as I saw the two people in front of my windows. Both of the two men were wearing thick black bullet-proof armor and black-ops helmets with shining black visors. Not a single patch of their skin was shown through the armor and I realized it was all for weapons. No weapon would be able to penetrate that armor, much less a hand or foot. I felt my nose wrinkle on both ends in pure outrage. They did NOT just come in on my BIRTHDAY! The two men both approached me quickly. I quickly shot out my foot, deciding that a broken foot or hand would be worth it if I could get out of here before they could recover.

I didn't break my foot (fortunately) but I didn't stop them either (unfortunately). The man instead grabbed my foot expertly and grabbed hold behind my knee, holding my leg up. "Please do not make me break this leg." The man requested awkwardly. I frowned at him. I quickly kicked off with my other leg, hitting him upside the head with my foot that wasn't being held captive. The man let go of my leg in shock. "You haven't been paying attention, have you?" I snickered smugly as I fell in a one-legged crouch.

I quickly swung my foot out in the limited space I had, using their own fog-cover against them as I hid beneath the smoke that remained in my room. My foot connected with one of the men's legs and he fell to the ground. I quickly pulled his helmet off of him and tossed it in the direction of the other man. This knocked his helmet off of him as well. But I was shocked to find that there was no man beneath the helmet. Instead there was a sleek chrome metal, not even forming a face. There was one single indent in the center of the….face that held a single red light. "Robots? Since when are there robots?" I squeaked in panic. It was then that I felt two cold hands grip onto my biceps, pulling me gruffly to my feet. "Please comply in following our direction." The robot that held me said electronically. I frowned at this. Maybe I could get them to let me off with a warning.

I wondered briefly if I could take robots down then I went to test my theory. I lifted my foot up, just briefly lifting it over my shoulder and hitting the robot in the face. The robot surprisingly stumbled backwards, obviously not set to being prepared for this. I quickly took a step back. _This is so gonna hurt. _I thought. And with that I ran and jumped out of my broken window.

I made a note not to land on my legs or head; if I did then say goodbye to that part of my body. I curled into a ball, landing like that against the rough grass of the lawn that was settled beside my house. While it was a patented landing, it still hurt like a mother fucker. I blinked away the spots just in time to spot more and more of those robot-thingies heading in my direction. "Oh, shit," I grumbled. I wanted a gun but I didn't have time to go back into my house, go down all those stairs, get a gun, load it up and then shoot all these mother fuckers out. But it was a nice fantasy.

I felt two more hands on my arms and then two more on my legs. I was soon being carried like a pork being ready to be roasted over the fire. Nice comparison, Ellie. "I really don't want to comply," I growled at the robots as I struggled against their grips. But it was useless.

And so, my birthday; on September 24th; was the last the last day that I was fully human.

**Iggy POV:**

It didn't take sight to realize that Max wasn't going to be happy and still wasn't happy. It didn't take that. I had no clue what Max was going through but I did know that she was never going to be the Max that we all know and love again.

"The main Itex branch is in Ohio." Nudge said as we all surrounded the public computer that she was "talking to". "Well, that's close enough." I stated. "It is," Max agreed stiffly. I could tell she wasn't smiling. She never smiled anymore. Then suddenly there was a gasp in Nudge's direction. "What is it, Nudge?" Max asked cautiously. Wow; she was being cautious around us now. While Angel, that little devil child, deserved that, Nudge didn't. "The computer hacked into the Itex database. There's been a new input." Nudge explained. Wow; a short answer. This world was coming to an end. "As in a new experiment?" Max whispered. "Yeah but there are so many firewalls around the database and so much protecting the file, it's nearly impossible to get in. Do you want me to try?" Nudge asked. There was silence for a second. "Try it." Max said in her leader-command type voice.

There was more silence and then the clacking of keys on the keyboard. Then there was a hesitation. "What is it?" Max asked, again cautious. "It's a bounty," Nudge whispered. I felt my entire body freeze. That meant that the subject (I feel like a traitor, thinking of them that way) was important. "But it's been taken down," Nudge whispered in horror. And again, I froze. That meant the subject (forgive me, whoever you are) was either A) captured or B) killed. I really hoped that Itex had just given up. I really, really hoped that there was not a person being either tortured or dead. I didn't know which one I feared most until I realized this was Itex we were talking about; death was much, much better.

_**Ellie's POV: September 27**__**th**__**:**_

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I screamed out. I winced as I jostled my wrists. You'd think that a person would be civilized.

You'd think that this company would have the decency to chain you to a wall. But nope; they were so impolite that they NAILED my wrists to the walls. Two stamped nails were embedded in my wrists right now, the only things keeping me to this brick wall. And as if the nails weren't enough, I was in a CELL as in a barred dungeon-like cell. Now I knew Itex was evil; but I had no clue that they did anything like this either. And not only was this enough.

I'd woken up hours ago after having slept for three days (or so they've told me) and all of my scars and cuts and bruises from my fight with Mel…they were all gone. I oddly missed Mel. I craved having her in front of me, prepared to either kill me or die. I missed that I had only had to worry about a school rumble, that I didn't have to deal with stuff like THIS! Then again, that "school rumble" had almost killed me. And the fact that all my wounds were gone only meant one thing; they screwed me up.

I'd been confused at first. Then a person came in, looking all professional. He didn't say anything but he wrote on a clipboard. He wrote on a clipboard and wore a white lab coat. Do you have any clue what a white lab coat means? Either doctor or scientist; and I doubt that a doctor would be able to heal all wounds with the touch of a magic wand (unless they're keeping it from us). And my legs were ITCHY. I have no clue what that means. I have no clue what anything means anymore.

"Rachael Elizabeth Kindy," A voice suddenly stated. I frowned as a person entered the room. I knew enough about the economic uproar and history of Itex to know that this man was the cruelest, sickest bastard in this universe; Monroe Gunderson. I felt a small chill wipe up my spine as he said my name. It was not good. It was creepy and disturbing. A small, logical part of my head was screaming that I was gonna die. Then the part that really made me the person I am, the part that made me, me; that part said for it to shut the fuck up.

"Monroe Gunderson," I growled, choosing to smile and cackle rather than to sob from pain and panic. "You look healthy," Monroe chuckled as he glanced over my half-naked body. I hated that. They had placed me in a hospital gown and I wanted to snap and growl at them for even daring to touch me. "You're looking snappy," I said sarcastically. "How's Mel? She still cut up? I should guess with the way that I _slammed her head into the wall._" I snarled at him. The sick bastard frowned at this. "Ah, yes, my daughter," He said, as if she were a monkey instead of the fruit of his loins. That damn bastard; no one talks about Mel that way but me! She's MY monkey (that I will eventually murder in a gruesome, painful death)!

I felt my teeth urge to grind but I restrained myself; I might need my teeth. "How are you feeling?" Monroe asked, as if we hadn't just been talking about how I'd placed his _daughter _in the _hospital_ (and vice versa). "Oh, spectacular; ya know, except for the nails in my wrists." I growled at him sarcastically. "They're just a bit uncomfortable." I said sweetly. Now there is a difference between lying and being sarcastic; but it's a very thin line. "Why, I am so sorry!" Monroe said as if he hadn't had a clue that I'd been in so much agony for the past possible days. "I will have those removed just as soon as I get this out of the way," Monroe said. I frowned at this. What? He had conditions? "We have a proposition for you," He stated first with an air of continuation, that he wasn't finished.

I watched Monroe Gunderson's face as he spoke. I saw that each feature on his face was calm, steady. He didn't feel a thing and didn't plan to. _Well, then I'll just have to give him some counseling. _I growled even in my mind. "We have a position opening up on the staff." Monroe stated, clipping his sentence. "It would pay greatly and it would ensure you our…protection." He hesitated on the word "protection". AKA, he wouldn't kill me. "And what exactly is this 'position'?" I questioned smartly. I had an idea or two of what it could be. Guess what was in my top five. "It would be nothing exactly. You see, it would only be a few traveling trips." Monroe stated calmly. I felt even more disgusted with him.

"You would simply have to alert some people of their…retirement." And again with the hesitation! But 'retirement'? I had a feeling that 'retiring' didn't consist of golfing and being put in a nice homey nursing home. I felt my face contort with even more disgust, if that was even possible. "I only have one person I'd enjoy to 'retire'," I growled at Monroe. Then I hesitated.

"Make that two." I snarled, still looking at him with an open expression. "Who exactly is the second person?" Monroe questioned. I frowned at him. Was he serious? "Melinda Gunderson was the first. You were the second." I stated cleanly, feeling my face unfold into a blank mask. I had to remain calm. Monroe's face matched my expression as he stared blankly into the cage that I was settled in. "I assure you, that would be quite…troublesome—," Monroe stated before I cut him off with a yell. "OH, SHUT UP! SHOW SOME FUCKING EMOTION! I JUST SAID I WANTED TO KILL YOUR DAUGHTER AND YOU! SAY THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE AND SHOOT ME IN THE FUCKING HEAD!" I screamed at him, not caring for one second that I'd allowed my temper to get the best of me. However, the whole 'shoot me in the head' suggestion was a bit unnecessary. Monroe's brow furrowed in hideous anger.

And I was gonna accept that. At least I could piss off an un-piss-off-able person. I didn't care if he killed me. I was just satisfied that I'd gotten to him. "You will not speak to me in that tone." Monroe hissed. Then he did something that made me even angrier. He looked at me with…disdain. "Fuck you, asshole," I growled at him. "Those robots showed more emotion than you. They were more humane." I said simply and cleanly as I raised my chin up high. But that was hard to do with my back against a wall and nails in my wrists. I felt that small bit of hopelessness cloud over my senses and I was exhausted yet again.

"They belong in this world. You belong in a place underground, where you can fully rot your ass off all you want." I stated with a small smirk. I refused to let panic, anger or pain get to me. I would be sarcastic, witty and fully able to kick this dude's ass. "You belong in a cemetery with maggots up your ass." I growled at him, my smirk still intact and growing. I flicked my chin, flipping a strand of hair out of my face. "I will allow those robots that you call acceptable in here. They will be an example of why you are wrong." Monroe stated calmly, his brow unfolding and his mask back in place. Then a small smirk was allowed on his face. "Please, consider my proposition." The man said before exiting the cold dungeon.

The second that Monroe was out the metal door six robots dressed the same as before came through the door, each carrying a large machine gun with a long strip of bullets hanging loose. I frowned as each stopped in front of me and faced me, each pointing their gun at me. I instantly tilted my chin down, preparing for the fire. And a single thought ran through my head as they shot.

_I. Will. Not. Die. _

**September 28****th****:**

_ I didn't get any presents. _Now, think about your birthday without presents. That's what I got! Not a single present because I'd been kidnapped by a multi-billionaire company, telling me to be an assassin. Why me was a question I had no answer to. I kept my chin down, refusing to look up as the pain rang out through my body. Imagine your body being shot with a million bullets then digressing them slowly out of your system. Whatever those damn scientists had done to me had made me heal and reject any object that wasn't part of my anatomy. I could hear the small '_ding_' with each bullet that had been fired as it was rejected and fell to the ground with metallic clang.

While my body rang out in a heartfelt misery, feeling the scorch of each bullet as it was pushed from open wounds, I knew there was one single silver lining; they didn't get me to scream. Not with one bullet had they gotten me to scream. However, I had a feeling that my teeth would no longer be useful. I would simply be free to kill this person with reason. The second that I was free from this hell, I would kill him and not be trialed because I would be within reason. I would have plenty reason to kill him. I would have plenty reason to rip this man's head off of his neck and swim in his blood. I would have plenty of reason to tear this man's inners from his body, searching for a key that wasn't there (Saw reference). I had every reason to go insane. And yet, my mind stayed clear.

While I was more murderous than ever, my mind was clear with reason. I had no voices in my head; I wasn't seeing things that weren't there. I had everything in order. I was purely in pain. I would beg for death had I not been so convinced that I didn't want to die without killing Melinda. That's my one reason for not dying; I had to kill Mel.

I was just waiting to get out of here. I was set to put my plan in order the second that I had my last bullet out of my body (I would feel it gone). I was set to escape. Because Monroe had been dumb and careless and had underestimated my stupidity. I could feel each bullet wound close and finally it was down to the last two; one in my right arm and one in my left leg. They worked simultaneously, leaving my system. The one in my arm fell in a bloodied heap but the one in my left leg stopped for some reason. I felt my eyes grow wide as I realized it was caught; on an artery. My scream of pure agony was muffled by my clenched teeth and I felt my resolve wither away as two tears slid from the corners of my eyes.

Saw had nothing on this pain. 9 Dead had nothing on this. Any horror movie ever was nothing compared to this. Those were mere scratches compared to this pain as the bullet forced its way through the important vein slowly, working against the healing process. Finally I felt the bullet work its way out. It seemed like forever before I heard the frozen 'ding' of the bullet. I unclenched my teeth finally and sniffed away the sobs that were working their way to my system. My body shook with the silent sobs that had escaped me. And this would be nothing but a scratch compared to what I had to do. My wrists.

My wrists had healed around the nails so I was wondering whether it'd be harder or easier to get it over with. I finally took in a deep breath and held it. A small vein pulsed in my temple as I did it in one swift motion; I ripped my arms off the nails. I clenched my teeth again as the scream escaped my system with the ripping agony that threatened to force me into unconsciousness.

I stumbled over to the cage door. It was still open. I stumbled out of the cage slowly. I was getting too slow. I needed to force my way out of here. And then…there was an abrupt painful notion. It felt similar to the nails that were out of my wrists now and yet they were bigger, thicker. I looked down to realize that Monroe had plotted my escape. There were several chrome spikes, unfolded from the floor. Two of which were piercing my legs from the bottom to the shins. I felt the scream work into my system as I slowly lifted my legs from the spikes. The spikes abruptly fell into the floor's camouflaged openings and I could feel my legs give in. The healing process was already forcing the splintered bones and veins together again as I fell to the floor. And then another, more painful notion, this time all over my body as I lay on the ground. The spikes had resurfaced. I screamed against my ground teeth as tears slid their way down my cheek, mingling with the blood of the spike…that had split my skull through to my forehead.

I knew I looked a gruesome mess, barely flesh but instead a puddle of blood and limbs. And yet my body refused to give in. My body pulled itself eagerly together, forcing the healing process to attract my severed limbs. Whatever they'd done was not good; it was not good at all. I obviously couldn't die. I could definitely feel pain though. I could feel the force of a million in my body, each surfacing then resurfacing repeatedly. I finally decided that I had to drag myself up and out before I passed out. I could see several spots in front of my vision as I forced myself up.

Every time I felt the spikes fly back up, I just pushed forward even more, thinking of the relief that I'd feel after I was out. I could feel my legs itching again and I had the sudden urge to run. So I ignored the spikes completely and succumbed to the urge. My legs took me ahead, beating the time that the spikes had to have. My legs took me out the door in seconds, away from all the pain behind me. I realized now. It was inhumanly possible to go that fast. I felt my eyes dart to the area I'd been a second before. But I had no time to contemplate how exactly I'd done that. I just had to get out of here.

I'm positive, no doubt in my mind, that I looked like a victim from a Saw movie (that hadn't found the key) but I knew I just had to get out. I needed out. I succumbed to the urge to run, yet again. I was out of the building in seconds. Then I realized something that I should've thought before; I had no clue as to where I was. While I was out of the building, there was nothing around me. All I could see for miles and miles on end was sand and cracked Earth. I was breathing heavy and despite the burn against my bare, bloody feet, I was relieved of pain. I could still see spots though. I just needed away from here.

Without a second thought, I got down on the ground. I slowly felt my body curdle, reforming itself.

Bones realigned for a new shape and my skin split despairingly painfully to allow fur to spread. I was soon allowed to recognize as my eyesight slowly narrowed and lost all color that I was a new shape, size and species. I glanced down at my hand and yet the sub-limbs were shorter; fingers and toes shorter. I soon realized that this new size formed a paw. _Oh, fuck; I'm a fucking kitty. _I thought in my mind. But part of me was kind of happy (the part that lost a lot of blood) and was trying to recognize whether I had ADD whenever I would see a ball of yarn or something. Um….

I quickly decided not to stick long seeing as I heard the sirens (especially louder with newfound hearing) and I darted off in a random direction. I was tired and yet the way that I moved was unnatural. _I guess I can't play games anymore; I'm a cheetah! _I joked to myself as I recognized the looseness of limbs and the black spots upon my paws and frontal limbs. I know; that joke sucked ass and I needed to come up with something better to humor myself.

I soon could still hear the sirens and yet I was miles away. My hearing was impeccable! I frowned as I watched the world around me grow darker and darker as my subconscious threatened to form. I glanced around my surroundings. I needed rest so I searched around. I noticed now that there was a dry forest off to the side. I didn't hesitate in running into the forest. Most of the trees were scabbed with heat and the leaves were crumbled into scarce places. I quickly found myself gripping onto the nearest one and climbing as far as my claws could take me. I found myself branches upon branches over the ground. And with that, I slept.

_**Max's POV:**_

Angel was at my side as we flew over the large city in Ohio, too high for anyone to recognize us as children instead of birds. There were screeches of cars and the smell of pollution surrounding us. It wasn't New York but it was close enough. Iggy was on the side opposite of Angel. If she dared to step a single toe out of line she was so out that she would never be found again. Angel glanced at me, looking apologetic and uncomfortable. But I wouldn't accept that. I don't care if I was being cruel; what she did was unforgiveable. I would have to play it cool now, give her a chance, until she decided her next little plot.

Iggy seemed to be just as uncomfortable, obviously having sensed the air. Nudge was behind us, taking the rear. "Oh, my God! Maybe we could get makeovers again like we did in New York! Iggy, you can get a new earring and Angel, you can get something new and Max! Oh, Max, you could get highlights again. Ooh and shopping in the city is supposed to be great! I wouldn't know since we don't have any money but still!" Nudge squealed and began to point out key buildings in the city. "Found it!" She suddenly squealed. I frowned and glanced back at Nudge. "Where?" I asked and she pointed downwards, pausing to hover in the air. I looked down at where she was pointing. It was a large glass skyscraper, looking oddly like the Empire State building and yet much more intimidating. "Are you sure?" I asked her. "Yeah; that's what the computer showed me." Nudge said, obviously positive with herself. "Alright, let's go check it out." I stated. But I still wasn't entirely sure. I would be on my toes the entire way in.

We each dove downwards, Iggy following by sound and Nudge leading the way. I followed because I knew she knew the way in by heart by now with what the computer had shown her. "Just lead the way," I told her as she landed on one of the higher spaces of the skyscraper. Nudge led us to the roof-access door with a nod and opened up the door. It was conveniently open which instantly made me wonder if they'd expected us. But I was instantly proven wrong. They merely had no reason as to keep the door locked. There was nothing here. "They aren't here," I stated in annoyance. Nudge was gaping wide-eyed at our surroundings. I instantly felt guilty for how I've been treating her. She was under massive amounts of pressure. "We have to go. If this isn't the main Itex we need to figure out just where exactly it is." I explained to the group. "But first we should stop for rest. We'll catch up tomorrow." I announced. Iggy gave a small smile but I merely frowned in response. "Let's just go," I muttered. I didn't want to feel guilty or to smile in reassurance. I deserved to be a bit grumpy.

_**Ellie's POV: September…ah, who cares!**_

I was extremely agitated. It's been days since I escaped from Itex's grips and handles and I've just barely made it through to civilization. Now was the issue of clothing. I'd already tried shifting back to human form; I was nude under this fur. This was understandable; I can't just absorb clothes, after all. This meant that I would have to possibly rob a clothing store and that meant that I had to do it in animal form. This meant animal control, the breaking of surveillance cameras, etc.

I gave a small animalized huff as I approached the town slowly. A family in a minivan went by, one character snapping a photo. I had an urge to attack her that I suppressed. I would save that for Mel and Monroe. You may be asking about why I was taking this so calmly. That's because this was what I'd prepared for back then. I had prepared for the unexpected. I had thought of the wildest, most out-there scenario. This met some expectations. I approached the town, prowling the perimeters slowly and peering with my intense sight in. The sight-thing was a bit overwhelming; it was like a magnifying glass. It made me uncoordinated but I had to deal with it. It was either run as a cheetah or run as a naked teenager. This one was less embarrassing and more humorous.

I finally spotted the nearest store in the small tourist town. I was in freaking TEXAS? That explained the sand and dirt and dryness. I found it was a small custom store for the tourist town called 'The Storage Bin'. It was an alright name so long as they're not all in damn storage bins. I would hate for that to have happened. I quickly ran behind the stores, gaining panicked glances from nearby passing people. But on the other hand, I was going too fast so all they would see was a black and white blur. I felt the small winds rustle through my spotted fur and I was enjoying every second of it. I finally came to behind the store and backed away from the door. Thankfully I didn't have to beat it down seeing as a person came out, carrying too much to even spot the cheetah that was ready to pounce at the door that he just came out of. I ran past the person into the store, heading to the main area.

There were suddenly screams and panicked shouts. I gave out a small snarl just to toy with them. The area cleared out soon enough. I calmly uncurled from my pouncing stance and hopped onto the counter. I jumped at the camera then the others, not enjoying the taste of wires and rubber. "So, so gross," I muttered as soon as I was human again. I went over to the door, locking it with my now-human fingers. I noted that the nails were longer, now-similar to my talons that I've had as a cheetah. The nails were freshly white and looking more like marble than nails. They were beautiful, even if they were in human form. I smiled to myself as I noticed. I glanced along the boutique, wondering just scarcely what I could do. I grabbed some of the body washes and shampoos from that section of the store before heading to the clothing areas. I just hoped they had a public bathroom. I grabbed a couple of outfits and headed to behind the counter. I quickly undid the security buttons before heading to the back, searching for a bathroom. I found one and walked in, checking under the stalls. No one was there. "Maybe I should grab some razors." I muttered and dropped all the stuff over at the edge of the counter. I quickly headed out and grabbed onto a can of Venus shaving cream and a pack of disposable razors. "Talk about a convenient store," I chuckled to myself on my way into the bathroom.

I washed my hair and body with a rag that I'd carried along with the clothing and quickly shaved my body. I had to hurry but I still savored the cold water against my body, even in small doses. It was steaming hot in Texas. I pulled on one of the pairs of boxers that were in the Hanes package. I grabbed the bra, wondering briefly if I got the correct size but didn't care. I clipped it on, realizing it was a couple sizes too small and yet I didn't care. I next pulled on the pair of jeans that I'd gotten and then a white V-neck t-shirt that I'd gotten. I grabbed the rest of the clothes and the other supplies before heading to the counter. I would leave the money; I had no necessary need until food. Speaking of…

I grabbed a backpack from nearby and stuffed my "purchases" in there. Next I headed to the convenience section and grabbed hold of a couple bottles of apple juice and then headed to the food section. I grabbed multiple Nutri-grain bars and several Hot Fudge Sundae Pop-Tarts. I shoved everything into the backpack and clipped off all the tags behind the counter. It didn't take long before I grabbed a pair of black flip-flops. After I was settled I headed out the backdoor. I would have to be careful with shifting.

I liked these clothes. I walked calmly through the town, my hair still wet from my recent bathing and watched as people began to gossip about what was going on and how they'd seen a "wild animal" in the store. I smirked at this before heading in the direction opposite of where I'd entered. Where was I going, you ask? Well, that, I have no clue.

**Max's POV: October 10****th****:**

The towns that we saw were covered in fall decorations, some with pumpkins and others preparing for Halloween. Nudge was excited as ever and Iggy was oddly silent. Angel was still playing the guilty act and being silent. We were just now exiting Texas. That was when we spotted the girl. And we all saw it; the blood.

**A/N: **Be prepared for the meeting, peoples! Be prepared for Ellie to meet them all. Then finally, let the meetings go on with a special someone. I don't own Maximum Ride but I do own Ellie and Melinda and Monroe (unfortunately). Be happy that I don't go on with the gore. I'm thinking of horrible scenes. Hee, hee, hee. I love ya all and don't screw with my mind. REVIEW ME!


	3. Deserting the Cheetah

The beat of wings was heard distinctly behind me and yet I was too tired to recognize them. I was overloaded with exhaustion. I wanted to just collapse and go to sleep. "You're bleeding!" A voice suddenly gasped. I frowned at this. I was? What? I thought I'd washed away all the blood. "Go back to town," I grumbled as I trudged forward. I was a cheetah; I could go days without food or rest. I could withstand the heat. But my body was chilled to the bone, feeling cold as death. This was ironic.

"You do understand you could die from the amount of blood loss, right?" A different voice announced grumpily. I frowned at this. They thought I could die… "Who says?" I muttered as I kept my legs going forward. This was ironic. Just moments ago I'd been energized, running as fast as a cheetah. Now I'm EXHAUSTED! So what the hell, God? You seriously did this to me? I suddenly felt a soft feather-light touch to the back of my neck. I gasped at how light it was and yet I merely closed my eyes to revel in the softness of the touch. It was so soft compared to what I'd felt for the past few days. "The wounds are healed," A soft boyish voice announced. "She's an experiment." The boy said gravely. And with that I knew it was time to stop. My arm flew back and gripped onto the hand.

I twisted the arm behind the boy's back but he fought back. He used it against me and flung me over his shoulder. I went rolling. "I swear to God, if you're working for Itex, I'll fuck you up," I growled at him. The boy seemed confused at this and stopped from his stance. "You think _we're _from Itex?" The boy scoffed in disbelief. For a brief second he reminded me of Morgan. Ah, what about her? Whatever happened to Morgan? "Why shouldn't I?" I asked. The boy threw his arms out in exasperation and tapped his fingers underneath his eyes. "Hello! I'm blind!" he cried out. I frowned at this. "Not my fault," I muttered as I slowly trudged to my feet. "We're not from Itex." The girl voice from earlier resounded. I looked towards her.

My school is filled with beautiful girls, girls that would outshine a Goddess. But none of them could ever compare to this girl. The girl had hair a mixture of natural colors; blonde, red and brown. Her tan skin was a light crisp color a shade younger than her brown hair and her eyes a dark chocolaty brown with black pupils meant to outshine the irises. Her form was slender, covered in a pair of torn jeans and a black T-shirt along with an open black Hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows to avoid the heat. Her right hand was placed on her hip in annoyance while the other held onto her black backpack, looking relatively new. With my newfound vision I could determine the bloodstains off the black cloth of her shirt and jeans.

"Obviously, or else you wouldn't think I would die from blood loss." I growled as I swiped off some sand from my jeans. Actually I kind of enjoyed this; it was the beginning of a new era; my first stain. Wow, that sounded nasty. The girl furrowed her brow, not spoiling her beauty in one second in her confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked. I laughed aloud at this and had to glance away to not let my self-esteem take a fatal blow. "You're experiments too, right?" I asked. They must've been the wings I'd heard. I was suddenly much more alert than I'd been a second ago. "Depends; are you?" The girl demanded, holding her chin high. I frowned at this and bared my teeth at her, revealing the one sharp canine that I haven't ruined yet. "Yes, I am," I growled.

"What are you?" The girl asked. "Let's get names out of the way first." I scoffed with a slight smirk. "Bi-polar chick," The blind guy murmured. I just now looked over at him as something other than an enemy; I looked at him as a human. And boy was he a finger-licking-good human! The blind boy had a full head of red hair, grown down to his chin and mussed wildly yet attractively. His unseeing eyes were a fogged over blue and for some reason they made me shiver. My eyes casted down towards his…body. He was unnaturally slim and yet his body was rippled with pure delicious muscles. He wore a white T-shirt and a pair of scarred jeans with a black belt and a pair of high tops. His bared arms seemed to be sinful with the amount of muscles I could spot with my specific sight. His snow white skin was scarred with thin pinked lines, just barely healed over.

"My name's Iggy," The blind boy stated and held out his hand towards me. I frowned upon this and took a breath through my nose. "Ellie," I introduced and held my head up high as I took his hand in mine and shook it gently.

"Whoa! Wait, you're the bounty! The computer showed me your picture; oh, my God! We all thought you were dead and then we decided it was better if you were dead because Itex is just a bunch of jerks in white coats and have clipboards. Why do they even wear white coats? I don't understand that; it would stain so easily." The girl that had spoken very first rambled. I turned my eyes towards her and frowned. Again, she was beautiful. This girl had skin the color of fogged chocolate and had frizzy black hair. Her eyes were a glassy hazel, close to blue and yet not fairly. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing a black camisole with a pair of torn jeans and a black light jacket with all sorts of buttons and clips with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She wore black and white high tops with it. She was beautiful.

"We all agree that she is." A perky voice chipped in and my eyes darted to the source. "You're avian experiments; birds, right?" I questioned the group as my eyes took in the others. There were two more. The one that had voiced in. She was a small blonde girl but there was more to her. Her hair was pulled up in small Shirley Temple curls in a halo around her head. Her skin was a creamy complexion with a tint of a blush on her cheeks. Her eyes shone a bright clear blue and she had a small smile to everyone around. She was small, around the age of six I'd guess. She wore a dark blue dress, flimsy with a square neckline and a sky blue ribbon around her upper torso along with a pair of black and white high tops as well. She carried a small blue backpack and a ratty old bear with wings and a halo. "This is Celeste," She announced to me. My mind instantly shut down.

Forces worked roughly in my head, erupting with small pains in my mind like small lava fireworks. But I didn't complain; they were mere itches compared to what I felt over the past few days. The small girl gave a small whine of confusion and possibly pain. "I'm a mind-reader," She explained with a frown and raised a dainty hand to her temple. "And you just put up shields." She grumbled. I blinked at this. What did I do? The girl merely shook her head and offered a small smile again. _Must've been instincts; gotta keep an eye on this one. _I thought clearly as I stared at the small girl. In a way she was like a healthier version of me even if she did seem unnaturally slim. There was a boy next to her, giving a small pout-like expression. He had large blue eyes and slightly tan skin along with a blonde Mohawk. He was small again and seemed around eight, maybe nine.

The boy was wearing a pair of camouflage pants and a baggy black T-shirt over his young form. He had small tiny scars that only gave him a more vulnerable look and just made me want to pick him up and hug him. I realized quickly that the pout-like expression he was giving was supposed to seem…tough? "Thanks, Angel," Iggy suddenly muttered absently and blinked his unseeing eyes. I turned to him, confused. "I just sent him a mental picture of you," Angel said happily. I frowned at this. "Creepy little telepath," I muttered behind a small chuckle. "You said an avian experiment; what are you, then, if not a bird?" The oldest girl questioned cautiously. I frowned at her. "I'm a cheetah," I answered boldly and raised my chin up high, crossing my arms with my new backpack slung on my left elbow. "That's…interesting," The girl muttered. "I'm Max," She stated and held out her hand. I took her hand. She instantly snatched up my hand, flipping it over to examine the wrist.

I now noticed that there was a large round pinked scar on my wrist about an inch in diameter. It must've been from ripping my arm out of the wall. "Where'd you get this scar?" Max demanded with a half-angry, half-concerned glare. "It seems to be from something stamped into her wrist." Iggy stated as he stepped over and ran his hand over the raised scar. I was distracted for a millisecond by Iggy's feather-light touches. "Um, okay," I muttered as I pulled my arm back. "Don't you have scars like it from Itex?" I asked as I took a small swallow to hold back the bile that rose in my throat from the torture within the walls of Itex I'd experienced.

"We have scars but never near arteries," Max stated simply as she gave me a more-cautious glance. I rolled my eyes. "Well, I can't die so they tried to kill me." I said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. And now the SILENCE~! I frowned as no one spoke. "Wow," the chatty girl said briefly. "I'm Nudge, by the way," She said brightly and held out her hand. I shook it appropriately. "Ellie," I reminded her. "Is that short for something like 'Elliot' or were you just named Ellie by hippies or something?"

I snorted at Nudge's rambles. I was quickly learning she was a chatty one. "Oh, and this is Angel and that is Gasman," Nudge said and gestured with a small wave of her hand to the two children left. The boy merely nodded his acknowledgement and clutched onto the hand of the younger girl. She smiled at him then at me. "We're siblings!" She exclaimed happily. I smiled at this. "That's good," I muttered. And that was what triggered Josh in my memory. What was happening to him? To the rest of my family, really. Were they being captured like I'd been? Were they still in Itex? Should I go back to check? Should I go to Michigan? Should I go check on Morgan? I should probably think over this stuff before I go heading into this. But I didn't want to.

"Do you have a family?" Angel asked curiously, as if my 'shields' weren't still up. "Yeah, I do," I muttered and bit my lip as I thought. "Are they other experiments or are they biological? When were you captured? Were you given up? I was given up but that's alright because I got to meet the Flock and I got to meet Jeb and Dr. Martinez!" Nudge rambled on without a breath. Oh, dear Jeez; this girl would be the end of my ears. "You get used to it," Iggy chuckled. I raised an eyebrow at him, the BLIND kid. Oh, crap; I'm an idiot. "That sucks," I muttered with a small uncomfortable chuckle. Nudge frowned at this. "Just answer Nudge's questions," Max ordered while crossing her arms. Wow, she was grumpy! "Fine; I was captured a week ago, maybe and had cheetah genes cocktailed into me. I was perfectly normal until about two weeks ago. I found out that Itex was stalking me as a HUMAN and I decided to ignore it rather than confront them." I explained to Max.

"Why?" Max asked. "What?" I asked. I was totally lost now; I'd said so much that I was confused on which part she was asking about. "Why didn't you confront them or go to the police?" Max asked. I laughed at this. It was a reasonable question, really. "I know the director's daughter, Melinda." I chuckled and looked towards the ground. "I thought that Monroe Gunderson was stalking me because of the fight that I got into with Melinda." I stated. Max furrowed her brows again. "Why would he be so concerned with a stupid school fight?" She asked. "Okay, the term is 'school rumble' and he would probably be so 'concerned' because we put each other in the hospital." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. I was getting tired with this. No; I was getting tired, period. I blinked my eyes in my exhaustion. "You guys can go now," I stated as I flung my backpack onto my back and pulled my other arm through the loop so it would stay on without me having to hold onto it.

"I'm sure you've got more to do than just tail a teenager," I muttered as I tried to stand up straight. I needed to find coverage so I could discard my clothes and shift. "Relax, we're leaving," Max mumbled and I heard a small shift in the winds. I turned to find her with her back facing me. But on that back, were WINGS, man! I glanced over the wings and memorized them quickly. They were a set of fifteen foot wings, most likely, with row upon row of beautifully melding feathers. The colors started from dark at the top to light at the bottom. They were so beautiful I couldn't retract my eyes. I was soon watching as each of them whipped out their wings and took to the air, to the sky. But the wings I was most distracted with were Iggy's. They were a shade similar to fogged over copper, a beautiful faded russet. The feathers seemed so luxurious that for a second I was deluded with the chance to feel them. But then I remembered that it only seemed as though I had the chance when in actuality it would seem dumb to hold out my hand.

Iggy seemed to sense me and turned his head, searching blindly for me (pun intended). He finally seemed to give in and closed his eyes. I wanted to say something but what could I say? Iggy finally felt it was time and took the air with his…I guess his family. _Wings. I wonder how that feels. Probably feels the same as my fur. It's odd; we're not human and yet…we're all humane. _I thought comfortingly to myself. I shivered slightly to myself as I turned away from the glorious sight of winged angels in the sky. Ha! Angels! And the only one named such was Angel, the creepiest and yet most innocent-looking of the bunch.

They should've named one of them Artemis or after a God of some sort. That would've fit them well. But then again they seemed a bit surprised at the amount of time I'd spent at Itex. They must've spent their lives in there. That would be horrible.

And there it was; that pity. There was that pity that I'd felt for Gasman when he tried to look tough. A part of me swelled with pride that I'd had the pleasure of meeting with them. I shook that out of my system. I finally spotted a nearby cactus. "That's as good as it's gonna get," I muttered to myself as I headed over to it. I pulled my shirt over my head seconds before I was disguised the prickly green vegetation. I quickly discarded the clothing and shoved them into my backpack before stretching my arms overhead. It would be safer for me to rest as a cheetah simply because people tend to not disturb an animal more than a human. I would merely choose a wild area and take my catnap there.

It was nice to think of myself as a feline character. I liked being feline; it's more feminine than any other animal. I was glad to be feline and yet I still craved to be fully human. But then again, I was never fully human. I was always watched and I was requested as an assassin; I had to be different from others. But how? I was always horrible at sports, I healed naturally, I never had any special ability or anything! I was just always…human. And then my train of thought went to volleyball.

I gave a feline chuckle as I picked up my backpack with my teeth and began to run. Hopefully no one would believe I killed a human for this backpack. That would be…disturbing. I gave a small yawn, dropping my backpack in the process. I stopped for a second and turned to look back at the town. With my extended sight it seemed like miles away so I had to be really far away. I wished for a second that I knew. I hate math. I picked up my backpack again, deciding to play it safe. As I ran through the deserted area I was distracted with the thought of Melinda.

The bitch had always been my worst enemy. She had always been so evil to me. And then there was that inappropriateness that we had. Don't get me wrong; I'm all straight and everything. I'm just saying that it's possible that, well, that she _isn't_. Straight, I mean. God, I hate having to deal with a person's sexual orientation.

Finally I came to a spot that was shrouded with scarce vegetation, just barely enough to be called 'wild'. In my book, at least. I stepped over to the center of the vegetation and crawled beneath some of the bushes to gain warmth. I might just have to shake off the bit of death that still crept over my system. I dropped my backpack and shut my exhausted eyes, instantly falling into a steep hungry slumber. And I dreamt of a certain blind bird-kid.

**Max's POV: Deserting the Cheetah:**

Ellie. That was such a dumb name! It's not even good. "Max, I think it's short for something." Angel cut in. I shot a glare at her. _Stay out of my head, kid. _I thought angrily. Angel pouted and crossed her arms mid-air. Ellie. What could that possibly be short for? Elliot, like Nudge said? And what's up with the whole 'she has a family' thing? If so, why isn't she with them? And now, here comes the guilt. I shouldn't be thinking about her, anyways. I had a mission (or so the Voice keeps telling me). I need to be focused on saving the world so I can get that jerk of Fang back. _Fang…_That's a good name! Not 'Ellie'!

But her image stayed in my brain. She was important. But why couldn't I figure out how? This was getting on my nerves and I didn't need even more baggage. She belonged on the ground, anyways. She wouldn't be able to keep up. _**She's a cheetah, Max. She would be able to go faster than you. It would only be water that you would have to worry about. **_The Voice cut in. I frowned at this. _Why would I have to worry about her following us, anyways? She's not coming with us. _I thought back. Oh, God, please don't let this be another Total! Angel gave a small whimper at the mention of Total, the unstoppable flying, talking dog that she'd adopted. And named after the tag that named him as the conclusion the doctors had come up with at the Institute.

I frowned at this. I kind of missed the damn Scotty. This was a rare moment, when I'd miss his annoying chatter. The damn Scotty had married another dog, Akila, and now the two live at my mom's house to await their litter of puppies. I just couldn't wait to see what _those_ looked like. I blinked tiredly and glanced down. We were just now coming up to a small clutter of vegetation, just barely allowed to be in the desert of Texas. Why were we even in Texas? I couldn't remember. I was too tired.

"Let's take a rest down there for now." I stated to the Flock. Everyone gave their nods of agreement and I even saw Nudge wrinkle her nose at the vegetation below. It was just a small group of cacti and bushes. We each narrowed down and landed just off to the side of the vegetation. It was enough to cover us until we were done with our rest. I frowned (more so than usual) as I spotted a brief patch of white within the vegetation, just below the bushes. No human would be able to see it, seeing as it was concealed by the brush. But I could see it. It looked like…fur. It was a large black spotted white cheetah, I could see. The animal seemed to be resting. I was debating on whether I should take the chance or whether I should get us to somewhere else. "Someone will have to keep watch seeing as we're obviously not alone." I announced quietly and nodded to the cheetah beneath the brush.

Angel frowned. "It's Ellie." She stated with a nod to her own observation. Now this…this confused me. Or maybe not so much. She did say she was part cheetah; maybe she was allowed to form into her animal, like Erasers can. And that comparison woke me up to the broad daylight that was Ellie. For all we knew she could be working with Itex, just lying to us. For all we knew, she could've been cracked. "That's Ellie?" Iggy muttered in somewhat disbelief. I looked towards Angel. She'd been sending him more mental images than she used to. I guess it was all because he wanted to see so badly.

"I would say for us to leave if we weren't all so exhausted." I announced and sat down near the nearest brush. "I'll take first watch," I said and glanced around at the Flock. As tired as I was, I was responsible for whatever happened. "Just get some rest." I reminded the kids. And Iggy. And Nudge. "I will definitely get some sleep." Iggy yawned and collapsed into a heap, not even bothering with his sleeping bag. Nudge giggled as she settled her sleeping bag between him and Gasman. Soon enough each of them were asleep. And soon enough we were captured.


	4. Having him back

**Ellie's POV: Announcing Fang, the Unstoppable Bird-Kid:**

"I'll kill you," I growled as I stared at the brick wall across from mine. "Be thankful you're not in a dog crate, like the rest of the experiments." Monroe said calmly to me. I frowned at him then glanced back up at the nails, in the same spot as they were before. "Wow, this is so much better," I said sarcastically. I'd woken up to great, ol' Monroe GUNDERSON in the FUCKING A.M.! I didn't want to be near Gunderson in the morning. "I don't like you." I stated blankly as I stared into the dark eyes of Monroe Gunderson. Monroe was simply like his daughter in the way that they were both EVIL.

Monroe had scarce blonde hair over his head and a young face but with some wrinkles. He wore that damn black pinstriped suit but it was open to reveal a white men's V-neck top slung lazily over his chest. Ironically enough he wore a small silver cross over his chest and reminded me CONSTANTLY of a mobster. Except for his eyes; Monroe Gunderson had the eyes of the devil. I mean it! Monroe had dark irises, blending in smoothly with his pupils and the whites were a tinted gray, looking smoky and EVIL. "I want to see Melinda." I stated with my chin held high. Monroe raised an eyebrow at me. "No," He said calmly. I frowned at this and bared my teeth to him. "I do not see it necessary for you to see my daughter." Monroe said. And then it HIT ME!

I laughed aloud as the reason struck my conscious mind. "You do have a heart," I laughed coldly as I rested my head against the brick wall behind me. This time my feet were not dangling over the floor but instead were resting just barely against the dungeon-like cobblestone floor. This time there were no barred walls indicating this was a cage. No, it was just a small room. It was just a teeny tiny room with me nailed to the wall. I was so dreading exiting this time. "You believe that I will get away so you don't want to put poor Mel in danger of being attacked by a cheetah." I laughed the conclusion I'd come to.

I was getting light-headed from the loss of blood. How many times was I gonna get caught? "Your friends are outside, you know." Monroe stated abruptly. I froze instantly. "Which ones? I'm very popular these days, ya know." I chuckled though inside I was panicking. If it was Morgan I was gonna eat his intestines. "A certain Maximum Ride and her 'Flock'," Monroe said. I frowned at this. The bird-kids? Then, for a reason unknown to me, my mind went to Iggy. "What is it that you want?" I asked immediately. The thought of Iggy getting hurt was for some reason making me hurt. It was probably because they've already taken so much from him. "I want a chat with the children who have been making so much trouble for us. I thank you for helping us find them." Monroe chuckled darkly and turned to the door. It was a metal door with no handle on the inside. Monroe knocked against the door twice before exiting.

I didn't hesitate. Before the door could shut I quickly ripped my hands off of the nails and ran to Monroe's back. He was quickly inside a room before I could catch up and I tackled him to the measly ground. "Ellie?" Nudge's voice crowed over the darkness of the room. I frowned at this. He wouldn't lead me to them… My hands gripped onto a slippery material and my hand drew back easily from where it'd rested on Monroe's face. It came back with…his face? That's just gross. Then I spotted the bright red light, the beeping bright red light that was the only illumination in the room. I searched the room before I spotted them. There were stacks upon stacks of tan dog crates leading up to the ceiling. It looked like a mini-jail, meant for Oompa-Loompas. I turned to the robot beneath me. "Ah, shit," I muttered before I felt the impact. I went flying away from the explosion and my back hit the wall gruffly.

I felt a sharp twinge in my center and I went sliding down the wall. The broken piping sliced up from the center of my torso to my head, easily cutting me in half in a dreadfully painful, agonizing process. I fell to the floor, already feeling the tug of my body as it contracted the body parts and inners together to heal. Nudge screamed so loud that it hurt my bleeding ears. "Did that leave a scar?" I grumbled as I sat up once I felt the final stitching on my body. "No," Nudge whimpered from somewhere in the room. I turned to the broken piping and spotted the dried blood on the jagged steel. I quickly gripped onto one of the safer ends of the pipe and pulled it off of the wall where it was. "Thank God that didn't erupt in some kind of gas or something," I muttered drowsily as I turned to the cages. "Where are you, Nudge?" I called to the room and glanced around. "Over here!" Nudge cried out.

I followed the sound of the voice to the cage that matched. "Back up, Nudge; I don't want to hurt you." I said to her as I felt around for her cage. I heard a slight scatter that indicated she did as she was told. "Are the others in this room?" I asked Nudge. "No; we were separated." Nudge huffed as I used the broken piping as leverage to crack the bars. There was a sickening screech at the impact and I felt at the bars. They were split open enough. "Okay, hold on and don't move." I said. "And sing." I ordered with a shrug. "What?" Nudge asked in confusion, annoyance obvious in her voice. "Sing so I don't hit you with the goddamned pipe!" I cried out in frustration and annoyance. "Oh, okay; what song do you want me to sing?" Nudge asked. I sighed. "Okay, screw the singing; how was your day today? What did the scientists do?" I asked as I let the piping hover over the dog crate. "Oh, don't get me started! They just did what they usually did! First they took us away from each other. I mean, first I'd woken up in a really dark place; by the sound of the engine I'm guessing it was a semi and then after awhile…" I'm not going to get you into Nudge's rant on her day.

I only nodded as Nudge talked and placed the broken pipe a few feet in front of where her voice was coming from. I lifted it up for stronger impact and lowered it down heavily onto the plastic. I heard the sickening crumble of the plastic then I heard silence. "Please say I didn't kill ya, Nudge," I grumbled with a slight groan. "Nope, just a bit shocked. You know you could warn me before you do something like that." Nudge complained. "We can talk about that later, Nudge." I chuckled as I lowered my hands into the large hole in the plastic. I reached one hand through the bars and the other from the exterior hole, peeling the plastic back on both parts with my hands.

"You can come out now," I informed Nudge. I heard another scatter and suddenly there were arms wrapped around me. I was shocked to say the least. "Thank you, thank you! Max needs to be nice to you now!" Nudge cried out and let go of me finally. "Yeah, yeah, let's get out of this hellhole before they try to shoot me again." I muttered. "Or maybe blow me up." I murmured absently as I approached the door. Great, no handle on this one either. I cleared my throat before knocking twice on the metallic surface. The door creaked open with what looked like freaking Wolf-Boy in front of it. He let out a small growl at the sight of me. "I so do not have time for you," I grumbled with a small whine. "Do you know where the others are?" I asked Nudge, as if a freaking Werewolf wasn't in front of me. Nudge shrugged. "We'll have to go out there without a map," I muttered thoughtfully. Then I felt the air. I was flying!

Nope; the werewolf had flung me across the room. "Nudge, are you okay?" I asked the dark room. Then it wasn't so dark anymore. "Yeah, I'm fine!" Nudge groaned from beside me. I blinked and adjusted to the light. It was an all-white room with the tan cages everywhere. "We don't have time to free them, Nudge," I reminded her. "Yeah, I know," She muttered sadly. I looked up to notice that the werewolf was right in front of my face. "Tic-Tac much?" I chuckled as I lifted my knee upwards. It impacted with the werewolf's stomach and he choked a bit before growling. "That's what we call an Eraser." Nudge said bravely as I stood up and swung myself around, aiming a kick in the same spot that my knee had contacted with him. The Eraser caught onto my foot just as it was a few inches from his gut. My mind flashed to the robot from before and I chose the same action.

I kicked off the ground with the opposite foot but the Eraser caught onto that foot too. This was alright too because I used the momentum against him and clasped my feet at either side of his face before flinging him backwards, earning myself a backflip in the process. "Nice," Nudge commented and slapped me a high-five as the Eraser groaned into his subconscious. "I know, right?" I laughed as we exited the room. Nudge was frozen though. "What?" I asked urgently as I hopped in the spot, too eager to get out to stand still. Nudge pointed at my wrist. "What happened?" She asked. I frowned as I looked down at my wrists. They were still bleeding but they wouldn't be for long. "Like you said, Nudge; same as before," I muttered and ran ahead. "Are ya coming or what?" I called back to her. She grinned and ran after me.

Nudge's grin was so infectious I found myself grinning from ear to ear seconds later as we ran down the mentally-disturbed-friendly hallways. "Let's just find the others so we can get out." I reminded Nudge. She nodded her agreement.

"I can talk to the computers and ask if they've seen them or logged them in," Nudge suddenly said and pointed to one of the electric keypads that sat beside the doorways. I frowned but nodded. "Wait, what do you mean by 'talk'?" I asked as we paused by a keypad. "Just cover me," Nudge said briefly as she stopped in front of the keypad. She placed her hand at one of the metallic recesses and pressed. Before I could so much as say 'what' she had fogged out. Nudge's eyes were clouded over as she stared absently at the keypad. She licked her lips and smiled for a brief second. "Thanks, Leroy," She stated abruptly and her eyes blinked back to their clear focus. "I've got the rooms." She informed me and nodded to one of the corridors nearby. "Sure thing," I muttered.

I followed Nudge, still carrying the broken piping (for helping and beating purposes both) as we rushed down the sterile hallway. We stopped in front of what seemed like a random doorway before Nudge pressed her hand against another keypad. And that was when the alarms went off. _"RED ALERT, RED ALERT, RED ALERT; ESCAPED SUBJECTS!" _I frowned at the screeching alarms, hurting my sensitive ears. Nudge kicked in the metallic door and ran inside. "It's got a metallic keypad; I can access it if you cover me." Nudge explained to me as she crouched by one of the crates. I heard a slight groan and I froze. That didn't seem familiar.

"Who're ya getting out, Nudge?" I asked Nudge. She smiled at me absently as she pressed against the keypad. "He's an old friend of ours." Nudge stated absently before pulling open the crate door. "C'mon, Fang," She said and offered her hand. Before I knew it a copper hand had reached out and gripped onto Nudge's hand. A boy clambered out of the crate and I just about gawked.

The boy seemed to fit in with the category of beautiful yet in a whole new way. His skin was a coppery olive complexion and he had greasy black hair cut down to his chin. He wore a black T-shirt with a pair of shredded jeans and a black army jacket. His body was almost as ripped as Iggy's and yet his muscles seemed to be subtle in a way. When the boy looked at me with his slim black brows furrowed, I could see his eyes. They nearly matched Monroe Gunderson's and yet seemed in no way to be the devil's eyes (although he could pull that off). He had the very same eyes yet the vibe was different, more fitting in his face's frame. "Who's this?" He coughed and cleared his throat. I shook my head when I realized I was staring. "Are you sure I don't have a scar?" I asked Nudge in a mutter. She giggled and shook her head. "He's just confused as to why you're with us." Nudge answered.

"Fang, this is Ellie," Nudge introduced and waved a hand casually in my direction. I offered my hand which Fang accepted. I suddenly heard the clamber behind me and I whirled around to recognize three (THREE; 3) of those Eraser thingies in the doorway. "Oh, shit," I muttered and rolled my eyes. I let go of Fang's hand and curled my hands into a fist. I noticed that I seemed slimmer, bonier from the loss of blood, not to mention paler (as if I needed to be whiter). I suddenly heard a familiar laugh and froze. I stuck out my tongue in disgust as I realized just who it was. And she approached through the crowd of Erasers.

Melinda's hair was blonder, fluffier as it trailed down her front and back to reach her elbows. Her skin shone brighter and yet she seemed more anorexic than before. Instead of the usual clothing I saw her in she wore a black leather pair of pants along with a black camisole. For some reason she wore a black slimming army jacket, similar to Fang's and yet more feminine. She wore a pair of high heels; clashing with my high tops and making me seem even shorter. I could see up into her bright blue eyes, so different from my smoky ones. While there was a height difference, I could easily stand up to her and kick her ass.

Melinda flipped her hair for me to recognize a new bright blue butterfly tattoo. "Where are we, Mel?" I asked Mel, frowning and uncurling my fists. Melinda brightened at the sight of me. "Hello, Rachael," She said brightly. Nudge instantly smiled. "Oh, your real name's Rachael? That's so cool." Nudge said. Then I saw a flash of movement. I reached out, blocking Mel's fist before it could hit Nudge. Nudge seemed a bit shocked. "You're in Florida, Rachael." Mel stated with a roll of her eyes. "Cool," I muttered and lifted my fist. My fist connected with Mel's nose instantly and she staggered back. Then her face curled into an evil grin.

"Finally."

Mel lashed out her leg and kicked my legs out from under me. I gripped Mel's legs between my feet. I pulled her down to the ground beside me and rolled over so I was straddling her and I drew back my fist. Fang and Nudge moved to help but I held out a hand. "Go get the others while I take care of this." I growled with my eyes directed as Mel. Nudge nodded and tugged Fang along. I frowned and bared my teeth at Mel. "Get them!" Mel growled at the Erasers. "Damn it," I growled and got up from Mel. I grabbed two of the Erasers' arms and pulled them back, slamming them into Mel while I wrapped my legs around the third one's waist. I pressed my palms against the door frame to keep the Eraser from running out with me on his back. "Run, Nudge!" I called down the hall. I pushed against the doorframe, causing both the Eraser and me to stumble back. As the Eraser clambered back I pulled myself up onto his shoulders and kicked his head.

Mel smirked from the background, keeping her arms crossed. "You're interesting these days," Mel stated. She ran and tackled me. She must've been experimented on too seeing as instead of crashing into the wall, it collapsed behind us. "What gene did you get, Mel?" I chuckled as I was shoved to the ground. Mel drew her hand back and didn't hesitate this time with punching me. My head flashed to the side until she went to punch the side of my head. I grabbed her fist before it could impact and twisted it. Mel cried out in pain before staggering off of me. I rolled over so that I was on top again and I punched her in the face repeatedly. "I was given your blood, Ellie." Mel cackled through the blood in her mouth. I was about to ask her what she meant when I saw the cuts on her face begin to shrink. "Oh, shit," I whispered mainly to myself before I went to punch her again. "SHIT!" I cried out.

"That's right, Ellie," Mel whispered as she staggered and stumbled to her feet. "I can kill you and you can kill me. Just as it always has been," Mel said with a slight smile. I frowned at this and ran at her. I shoved her into a wall, causing it to crumble just like the other one. Mel frowned as she was shoved into a rough metal piping. Sadly it went through both of us. I just drew back my fist though and punched right in her face. I staggered back, away from the pipe. Mel did the same, falling into me. I reached down, gripping onto her neck and pulling her up. I punched her in the face, slamming her into another wall yet not as hard as before. Dust crumbled from the ceiling and a few tiles from the ceiling came down behind us. I drew my fist back, punching Mel yet again. But she shoved me back and turned us around so that I was against the wall. This time the wall crumbled yet again.

Now we were both in a large lobby-like area. There were several scientists around, each scribbling on clipboards while watching a panel of screens. On that screen I saw three people; Angel, Max and Iggy. I frowned and looked around. Damn it! Nudge was nowhere in sight. "Shit!" I cried out, my voice echoing against the walls of the maze and the lobby. Now all eyes turned to the crumbled walls behind us, a simple trail of destruction which gave me an idea. I turned us around, picking up Mel in the process and bracing her. "Get ready," I chuckled in her ear before charging towards the maze. Mel shouted in pain the electrified walls clashed with her back and each wall broke down underneath the strength. I finally came across them. Mel was still alert and aware though. She grabbed at my neck, right in front of Angel and Max. Iggy was nowhere to be found. "Where's Iggy?" I choked out. Max frowned at me, seeming a bit disappointed. I reached towards my neck, prying Mel's fingers off of my throat. "C'mon, Mel," I chuckled as I easily pried her fingers off. "You're losing your touch," I cackled and stuck out my tongue at this "faux bitch".

I shivered suddenly as Mel straightened up, seeming unhurt. She cracked her neck from side to side in a way that seemed unhealthy. "That's what I'm talking about," I whispered with my teeth bared. Mel headed straight for me but I stepped aside and slammed my palm against her back, shoving her into the wall. She crashed through yet again and this is where I found Iggy. He backed up before Mel could crash into him and glanced in my direction although his eyes couldn't spot me. "Are ya coming, Iggy?" I asked with my eyebrows raised. Iggy smirked as he headed in the direction of my voice. It was as he was on his way that Mel got up. I tackled her before she could get to him and I gripped at her throat.

This time I held her up to the wall just enough to keep her in the heat of the electric walls. "That's right, drink it all up," I chuckled as I watched her fry to a crisp. Her body was relinquished of all fluids and her hair frizzed and curled. I watched as her eyeballs shrunk to small raisins. "That's…sick." Nudge's voice suddenly stated. I whirled around and frowned as I saw Fang…making out with Max. "Wow, when'd that happen?" I asked. Nudge giggled at this as she too turned to them. _"Fang and Max, sitting in a tree," _She sang. I lightly slapped her against the shoulder. "One day you'll get a boyfriend and you won't be able to sing that anymore," I muttered before turning to the crisp that was Mel. I could already see her beginning to fill again. "C'mon, before she regenerates." I said and nodded to the trail of destruction. "What?" Nudge questioned in shock and fear. Her eyes flitted to the Mel-crisp. "Let's just get Gasman before…" I said before spotting him, waving at the end of the destruction. "Cool, now we have to find a way out of here." I reminded them. I glanced around at the group. Max and Fang had resurfaced and were having their moment.

"Let's leave them for a few seconds." I muttered with a smile. Max turned to glare at me. But at least it didn't seem like she could burn holes in my skin. It seemed like Max was in a lighter mood.

**Max's POV: Having Him Back:**

Ellie saved my Flock. Ellie saved Nudge. Ellie saved Fang. _Fang…_ He was back. My Fang was back. I couldn't help but smile at this fact. "Are you staying?" I asked Fang, suddenly frowning. If he was going to stay then fine but if he isn't…we might have to make a detour to Mom's place so I could break down. "I'm thinking about it. The Voice says that I should but—," Fang started but I cut him off. "Never mess with the Voice." I said. It was kind of to offer respect to Voice but mostly just to get him to stay. Fang smirked his telltale smirk. "And the girl?" Fang questioned, furrowing his brow. The others were away now, doing recon before we blow this joint (excuse the pun of intended escape). "She's not staying," I stated with a frown. "Why not?" Fang asked, seeming confused more than angry or annoyed or even disappointed. He was just confused. I gave him a small peck on the lips. "Because she's not even a bird-kid," I said with a shrug. I kissed him again. I was gonna enjoy having him back.

"It doesn't matter; she rescued all of us. Without her we wouldn't have gotten out as quick." Fang reminded me. I rolled my eyes. Truthfully I was just tired and annoyed. Then I spotted the girl from before (the girl that was fried to a crisp). She was over by the wall. She was beginning to blow up like a freaking BALLOON. "Oh, shoot, we need to go." I said, remembering what Ellie said about her 'regenerating'. Fang spotted her too and grimaced. "Let's go." He said and grabbed onto my hand. I smiled as I squeezed his hand. I was just on Cloud 9 because my boyfriend was back. I was gonna enjoy having him back.

**Ellie POV: Rachael…**

"So your real name is 'Rachael'?" Nudge questioned for like the fiftieth time while we waited for Fang and Max to come back. "Why do you call yourself 'Ellie'? I think Rachael is a great name." Nudge said. Angel only nodded her agreement. "It's definitely a good name." She joined in. I rolled my eyes. "Because Rachael is too long of a name and it's awkward to have to say the full name. I don't like the nickname 'Ray' and I enjoy my middle name; Elizabeth." I explained as I glanced back down the trail of destruction. "C'mon, ya guys! I don't want to have to kick her ass again!" I called down in a slight whiny voice. Fang and Max resurfaced from the trail soon enough. "She's starting to…blow up." Max said, fumbling over the words to explain it correctly. I nodded.

"Yep, that's regenerating for ya," I said as I glanced down the hall. "Let's go so I can go to sleep." I whined, bouncing in my step. I didn't want to stay here only to be captured again. "So..." Fang said. He was obviously not Nudge. "We met 'cause they saw blood on me." I mumbled my explanation as I rushed down a random hall. "How are we getting out of here?" I whined. Iggy and Gasman grinned at each other. Fang smirked slightly and Max rolled her eyes.

"DO your thing, guys," Max said. Fang backed up along with everyone else. I did so only because everyone else was gonna. "Oh, man," Iggy muttered. "It's not finished," Iggy muttered as he held up a small round black plastic thingy with wires sticking out at odd ends. "Well, it doesn't matter so long as it explodes." I said, glancing back. I could see her resurfacing at the end of the destruction. "Uh-uh," I groaned as I spotted her. Half of her face was still regenerating, making her look like the Terminator with half his face burned off. Everyone followed my line of sight. "You exhaust me," I groaned as she spotted me. She growled at me. "Look at what you did," She screeched at me. Mel ran at me.

I had to run back to keep her away from me. "Just do something," I said to Iggy and Gasman. They both grinned again and began throwing stuff. It was very hilarious to see bunch of tiny explosives make one big explosion, blowing out the wall. I could've done that with Mel! I collided with Mel, pulling her back, away from the…bird-kids. Mel grabbed onto my waist and roughly shoved me away, into a wall. This one crumbled as well and I began to randomly wonder just where my pipe went. "Damn it," I growled as I kicked her in the crotch. "Damn it," I muttered as she flipped us over. I was prepared to fall asleep right here with her hitting me. Mel smiled down at me, her face now finished properly. Her hair was slowly going back to blonde, shaking off the small cinders. "Your blood really helped me out." She whispered into my ear. I frowned at this.

Mel was a little too close for comfort. "Stop flirting with me, you bitch," I chuckled as I shoved her off. She rolled her eyes and headed for me again. This reminded me of the Witch in _Left 4 Dead 2._ I smiled as I aimed a roundhouse at her ribs. I suddenly really had to pee. "Your maze really helped me out." I responded, leaning in just as close as she paused in front of me. Now I was absolutely positive; Melinda Gunderson was a LESBO and had the HOTS for ME. Because right then, she did the oddest thing; Melinda Gunderson just goosed me. She pinched my butt. THAT IS NOT MEANT FOR YOU!

I frowned as I realized this. Then I stuck my tongue out in disgust. I mean, I'm not a homo-h8r but I am just a bit grossed out that Mel has the hottie-tots for me. "Mel, really? We're supposed to be fighting!" I cried out at her and punched her in the stomach. And my guilty side sprung a leak! Even if I was meant to be kicking her ass and killing her, I shouldn't reject her that way. Even if she is the enemy, she still has feelings. Then again, she's a disgusting les who wants my pretty junk; hee, hee, hee. "I'm sorry, Mel. I just don't like you that way." I said to her with a shrug. Mel frowned and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," She muttered. She obviously hated rejection. Then she smiled. "But that doesn't matter," She muttered. "Eventually, you will," She said with a grin.

I really didn't want to know what that meant. So I punched her in the gut and ran outside. I don't know how it got out there. I really don't. But my backpack was right outside the hole and I realized now that I was in a hospital gown. "Cool," I chuckled as I began to shift. I leapt into the air, shifting midair. I turned back only to get my backpack before running off. I could see six dots in the sky. One of them waved down to me. I wanted to grin but that'd look funky in cheetah form. One paused midair. Obviously it was Fang, seeing as he was the darkest one. I shivered slightly as I ran with my backpack in my teeth. Right as I was about a mile away (aka just a short time) there was a huge shrinking noise from behind me. I turned to see the entire estate in flames. Again, I wanted to grin. But no grinning for the cheetah.

I chuckled darkly in my form and kept on running. Mel would regenerate soon enough anyways. I ran faster and faster until I was at my limit and the bird-kids were far enough behind me to be called left behind. I paused, realizing that we'd gone far enough from the estate and we were due to a town any second. Then I realized just where the hell we were; Florida. And we were in a deserted patch? Given it wasn't sandy and dry but it was still deserted? When was there ever any part that was deserted?

I shivered again and waited. The bird-kids each landed gracefully in front of me and paused. I tossed my backpack to a nearby tree when I realized that we'd stopped in front of a forested area. I headed over to the tree and changed quickly into a black T-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans along with the high tops I'd jacked. I went over to the bird-kids and smiled tiredly.

Nudge instantly ran forward, enclosing me into another hug. "Ellie! We were so worried! We thought that that girl had killed you except you can't die so then we were wondering what was taking you so long then we began to wonder if you really could die but it was more complicated than we thought then we thought—," Nudge was cut off by Iggy's hand. I grinned my thanks to him. "Thanks," I said when I remembered he was blind. It was such a disadvantage at times. "So who was that?" Max asked seriously as she stepped forward. Fang was one step behind her, keeping close contact. I frowned. "I went to school with her; that was Melinda Gunderson, the daughter of the director of Itex. Apparently her dad transfused her blood with mine so we're both deathless." I explained to her. "That's the girl that I got into a fight with and we both put each other in the hospital." I chuckled.

Then I felt my face contort with disgust and I hopped in one place. I suddenly felt very dirty. "That's kind of gross," I groaned. "What?" Nudge asked frantically, searching for a new topic to ramble on about. "She has a crush on me." I whined and hopped in place. Iggy gawked at this and I saw his eyes go wide though they couldn't do much. "Um…wait, Angel, will you please…?" Iggy requested. Angel instantly looked as disgusted as me. "NO! I will not show you both of them!" Angel screeched. I gaped at this and turned to Iggy accusingly. "We're both blonde except I'm not, not, NOT a bimbo." I scoffed. "That's all ya gonna get." I told him and pointed a finger at him uselessly.

Iggy rolled his sightless eyes at this. Fang smirked. Gasman was confused. "What do you mean? Why would Iggy want to see both of them?" Gasman asked. I blinked at the young boy. "Um, I'm not gonna give him the lesbian lovers talk." I muttered and pointed at the kid. Fang narrowed his eyes at me in accusation. I frowned and glanced down at my new clothes. They were already dying a deep red, almost all the way. "Do you think I could pass this off as tie-dye?" I asked the group. Nudge frowned. "It's blood, Iggy," Nudge said to Iggy, thinking he was probably curious. "Um, maybe," Max said awkwardly. I turned my eyes down to the red shirt. "Okey-doke," I muttered and shrugged. I went over to the tree and grabbed onto my backpack.

"Where are you gonna go now?" Gasman spoke for the first time. I frowned at him. "I'll probably go see if my family and friends have been kidnapped then if they are I'm gonna go kill the rat-faced bastards." I said with a shrug. Max smirked. "Good luck with that." Max chuckled. And that was what really got me. I stood, frozen in my spot, staring at Max. This was the first thing that even resembled smiling coming from her. She furrowed her brow. "What?" She asked. "You must really enjoy having Fang back," I muttered and shook my head as I reached into my backpack. I pulled out one of the smashed Pop-Tarts and chuckled. "Gooey, gooey goodness," I snickered to myself. "Anybody want some?" I offered and held out the open crumbled Pop-Tart to everyone. Nudge instantly dove for it. I shrugged and tossed it to her before pulling out some of the Nutri-Grain bars. I ripped open an apple one and bit into it. Iggy took a spot beside me on the grass while the others gathered around in a circle. "How far away did we go?" I asked through a mouthful of Nutri-Grain blueberry. I must've stolen more food than I thought and I also had more money than I thought.

"We went a couple of miles, far enough to not be found for a while." Iggy said and shrugged. I nodded through my food, accidentally yawning with my food still in my mouth. Gasman cracked up while Angel and Nudge looked disgusted. Max and Fang were in their own little world and Iggy was…well, he was blind. "I'm too tired to stay up," I muttered and leaned up against the tree I had my back to. Iggy smirked and followed my example. I closed my eyes silently and breathed through my nose for a little while. "Nobody steal my food while I'm asleep," I joked as I curled up to go to sleep. "We should get to Mom's place." I heard Max saying now that I wasn't breathing so heavily or eating or anything to block out my hearing. "We can; we don't know where to head from here so we can wait there for any real news." Fang agreed. Man, I could practically feel Max's happy vibes. "SO about your name, Rachael," Nudge started again. Great; I hate my name.

_**AN: **_Be happy! I want you to be HAPPY! Fang is back, Mel was introduced to the Flock, Max is heading to her mom's and Ellie's going to find out what happened to her family. But what exactly happened to her family? And I mean the whole family…


	5. Meeting the 'Rents PART I

We were at a park in one of the nearest towns. It was gonna be where we'd split up. "Alright, this is where the fork spreads," I said as I finished tugging on the oxford shirt I had left. It was gonna end up being my nicest clothes and it was basically the only thing I didn't have that was bloodstained. I had the sleeves up to the elbows and the buttons were unbuttoned for the first few at the top. The entire Flock turned to me. That's what they told me they call themselves; the Flock. "I need a cool name too," I muttered. Nudge giggled. "You got Ellie the Immortal," She giggled. I rolled my eyes at this. "Yeah, okay; that'll do." I said and shrugged. My hair was freshly cleaned (from a gas station) and my clothes were freshly washed (nearby coin-wash) and my food supply stocked.

"I'll come to Arizona when I'm done here to see if you're still there." I said and clutched onto Nudge's hand. She and I have grown close; like sisters. Except I'm sarcastic and she's chatty. Oh, we fit each other perfectly. I grinned at her, flashing my newly grown canines. They'd grown to the size they were before. Nudge reached into my backpack, withdrawing a pen and scribbled a messy address on my arm. "I'll have to write that later when I wash my arm," I laughed as I took the pen and put it away. "I'll come by as soon as I'm done in Michigan." I said.

This was three days after our escape. And though it was a short amount of time, my hair had grown because of my healing process. It'd grown to my elbows but I'd chopped it to shoulder length. It was back to its bleach blonde trilogy and now was covering half of my face every time I put my head down. I wondered just briefly if I would be recognized. I hoped my mom hadn't made a big fuss. Well, that wasn't true.

I reached in, giving Nudge a final hug. Max watched on with caution. I rolled my eyes at her but I retracted quick enough for her to approve. Nudge seemed on the bridge of tears and Angel was actually crying. I bent down slightly though Angel was just barely smaller than me. She could pass for a preteen if she wasn't so cute. I hugged her quickly before turning to Iggy. This surprised me when he scooped me up into a deep hug. Iggy, I'd found, was a great chef and a great friend. We talked plenty because I had enjoyed school life and he had enjoyed the wild life I'd always imagined. We had a lot in common I found out.

I hugged Iggy back and for a second my mind flashed to Josh. I'd have to visit him in Ohio later. Not immediately but maybe after I went to Arizona. "Okay, now I have to really go." I said as I pulled back. I really didn't want to let go of Iggy. As much as he reminded me of Josh he was more of a best friend. I gave a small shiver and pulled my sleeves down but kept the cuffs unbuttoned. With the oxford shirt I was wearing a pair of jeans along with my high tops. My hair was currently pulled back into a high ponytail but shreds and strands were covering and framing my face. "Have a safe trip," Iggy said and squeezed my hand. I smiled at him but frowned when I remembered he was blind. "You too," I said and squeezed back.

I reluctantly let go of Iggy's hand but I just kept staring at him. I didn't want to leave Iggy but I wanted to see my family. I wanted to see them and see Morgan and my friends and… I just wanted that old bit of my life back. "Thanks, Angel," Iggy said. I smiled down at Angel and she offered a watery smile back. I nodded and sighed. "Okay, let's go," Max said. I nodded and headed in the direction opposite that Max was ushering the Flock. I, Ellie the Immortal or Ellie for short, will be heading home. To what, I have no clue.

**Three days later: Halo, MI: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole and Owning **_**Wonderland**_**:**

I stepped up to the house. I knew no one was home. There was no car in the driveway. I opened the door to find it unlocked. But what surprised me, more or less, was that everything was gone. The stupid ol' stained couch wasn't in the living room nor was the mismatched loveseat or the burgundy armchair. I searched around, my eyes drifting over the wooden floors. I'd been gone too long. I'd missed them. No one was here. I turned to go into the kitchen, frowning as I passed nothing but empty closets, an empty bathroom and nothing else. I could see the indents from the couch's legs and the place where the table had once been in the hallway. I went to the kitchen only to spot something on the counter. I headed over to the counter where it sat and gaped at it.

It was a newspaper. On the front page was my school picture. "Child Dead from Home Robbery," I read aloud. I frowned as I ran my hand over the paper. The paper was dry and crackled, tear-stained. Mom must've cried over this. They thought I was dead. I frowned at this and turned my eyes back to the article.

_Rachael Elizabeth Kindy was killed on September 24__th__, 2010. In sad irony, it was her fifteenth birthday. The family was devastated to find their daughter's body on the front lawn after having been thrown through the second story window after trying to defend her. Multiple bullet wounds had been found in poor Rachael (aka Ellie)'s chest, indicating that a shot to the heart had been the cause of death. The murderer was caught and is being put on trial for manslaughter. "She was so excited about turning fifteen; she said that no one would be able to take her mood." Best friend, Morgan Castoff, comments through tears to us. It was noted that a smoke bomb had been set off within the house to cover the robbery however Rachael had proudly stood her ground up to the very end. She had been a strong child as far as we're concerned and she will be greatly missed by family and friends. R.I.P, Rachael "Ellie" Elizabeth Kindy. _

By the end of the article I was in tears as much as I assumed mom had been in. My tears dropped onto the paper and I frowned at the darkened photo of me. My family believed I was dead; Josh no doubt thought I was dead; Morgan thought I was dead. To the world I was dead. I was no longer a citizen because I was FREAKING DEAD. I felt anger boil in my system. Then it was just suddenly let loose. They didn't kill my parents or my best friend or my brother. No; instead they just killed me. But I had a feeling that was a good thing. If my parents and family and friends all thought that I was dead, they wouldn't come after me. If they believed I was dead Itex wouldn't be tempted to kill them. And as long as they were alive and well, I was great. Just spanking fantastic.

I frowned as I noticed the basement door open. Unlike some pussies, I'm not too scared to go into the basement. I went down the stairs of the basement to find stack upon stack of boxes. Each one was messily marked. And one open box proved to me that they really were devastated. This was my stuff.

I let a sob wrack my body and I whimpered as I fell to my knees beside the open box of clothing. I sobbed like that for a while, crying over my death. A body…_the sick bastards must've replaced my body. _I explained to myself in my mind. I sniffed away a few tears after what felt like hours. I had a pulsing headache now and was exhausted. But I couldn't stay here; if my family had moved then a new family would move in here.

I sniffed again before beginning to open up my stuff. I opened a few boxes before I found a duffel bag hefty enough to hold a massive amount of stuff. I packed away the stuff that I'd stolen and a bunch of my old stuff. I was grateful to find my leather jacket stowed away. I absolutely adored my leather jacket. I quickly pulled on the leather jacket before finishing up my packing. I finally spotted a box that was marked…BATHROOM. I headed to that box and smirked. Everything that had been mine from my bathroom was in here. And I had been planning to dye my hair. I pulled out the box of brown hair dye and headed upstairs, carrying my shower towel I'd had before. I quickly dyed my hair after a quick shower and change. I was now in a pair of old jeans and a black studded belt with my purple and gray lacy bra and later I would put on the black V-neck sweater. I quickly finished the stages of the dye before I was satisfied and ready to rinse it out. "Ouch, ouch, ouch! OW!" I cried out as the dye was left in a BIT too long.

Surprisingly the darker color helped to disguise myself. I quickly pulled on the sweater and my leather jacket before heading downstairs with everything in tow. I spotted myself in the reflection of the mirror left in the hallway. My hair had dried quickly and was now in feathery light waves down to my shoulders, smothering the right half of my face in a chocolaty mess. It was cute. I smiled at the look and pulled my hair into a high ponytail yet again. I shivered slightly beneath my jacket before heading to the door. Once out the door I realized I had to get to Arizona. I was gonna have to get there at a quick rate.

I checked in the pockets of my duffel bag, searching for anything that might just possibly be of any use. Credit card; jackpot. I wondered briefly if Itex would track this. So I headed in the direction opposite of the airport. I took out hundreds of bucks before heading to the next machine down the road so I could take out more. Once I had an even thousand in my pocket I was satisfied. I headed to the airport now with my duffel bag slung over my chest and my hair fresh and new. But my skin was still pale. Ah, who cared? I quickly headed into the nearest Optim-Eyes though just quickly. I bought a pair of green colored contacts and a pair of normal frames with no real prescription. "Role playing," I said to the person behind the desk with a slight smirk.

As soon as this was out of the way and I had on the disguise I headed into the airport. I caught glance at my reflection and realized this; I was new. I was fresh. I was no longer Rachael Elizabeth Kindy. I was Ellie the Immortal now. I had no baggage. I could do what I want and I could be what I want and where I want. I paid for the Arizona trip and smiled at the person. I had on the set of thin glasses and my eyes were a new shade of yellowish green to match my hair. I headed to the terminal and smiled at the flight attendant before handing her my ticket. "Have a nice flight," She said and ripped the tab off my ticket to indicate I'd already been on the flight after this. I passed her, carrying my heavy luggage before heading out. I walked up the steps that led to the corridor to the airplane. I quietly stepped onto the plane and headed to the coach seat I'd paid for.

I smiled at my neighbor as I settled my duffel bag on my lap. It only took a few moments before I was asleep.

**Ellie POV: Arizona: Meeting the 'Rents:**

I yawned as I stepped out of the airport, prepared fully to run at top speed. I checked my reflection and yes, I still looked new. I had changed into a red V-neck and my leather jacket along with a pair of black skinny jeans from my old wardrobe and my pair of high tops. I was still carrying the duffel bag with the strap across my chest in a slash-like motion. I looked at the piece of paper I'd written the address on after I'd remembered to write it down. Wow…I opened up my map and blinked down groggily at the map. It was far enough to have a good run but close enough to not wear myself up.

I quietly glanced around before heading behind the building. I unchanged in an alley before shifting. I picked up my bag in my mouth and headed to a forested area after having memorized the route. I didn't want to get lost or anything. But I took the quickest route through the forest, allowing myself a breathy chuckle as the birds all flew from their predator; me, Me, ME! I was so happy to be a predator; scaring small woodland creatures was so easy.

I yawned tiredly before I ran some more. Then I came up to a darker area. I glanced around the dark and spotted it. It was a fairly ordinary house with bright yellow exterior and white paneling but with a black roof. There was a large porch with a screen door and netting to keep out the buggies. I was fairly impressed that this was the major Maximum freaking RIDE'S house. It was cutesy!

I shifted into normal form before changing into my regular clothes. I quickly replaced my contacts and glasses before checking my reflection in the compact mirror (so irritating) and pulling my hair into a ponytail. I picked up my stuff and headed to the front door. "Um, do I go in and knock or knock right here?" I asked myself. This part was always awkward. I hated knocking on doors. Of course if I walked right on in with my disguise on, that might influence a breaking of my spine. I don't want to have to regenerate that too. I frowned as I headed inside the inner porch and knocked on the door. I heard a clutter of voices with laughter and squeals. Then a woman came to the door.

This woman was beautiful. She had long black hair and tan Hispanic skin. Her eyes were similar to Max so I was guessing it was Max's mom. Wow; I never guessed that Max would be…ah, shut up, you damn racist side. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and she wore a purple blouse along with a pair of suit pants. She had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the top button undone to reveal a cute silver chain. I smiled at the woman and she offered a confused smile back.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked kindly. I smiled again, but more awkwardly this time. "Um, yeah, is, um, Max here?" I stuttered awkwardly. "Oh, you're looking for Max," the woman cried out not-so-subtly. "Just tell her its Ellie," I said. This sprung the woman's attention. "Oh, you're Ellie!" She cried out in genuine shock. I grinned at this and nodded. "Yeah," I muttered. "Aw, well, come on in! I didn't think you were Ellie. Nudge said that you were blonde for some reason." The woman laughed awkwardly. I snorted at this and shook my head. "Well, I did just recently dye my hair." I laughed. "I have to explain this to Max and the others anyways." I said with a shrug and waved a hand up to gesture at my hair.

I was instantly knocked on my butt. Nudge had heard. "Hiya to ya too!" I laughed out loud and patted Nudge's back awkwardly. She gasped loudly and narrowed her eyes at me. "I have to explain this anyways so whatever," I muttered and hoisted myself up onto my elbows. Nudge rolled her eyes. "I like it! It's so cute, Ellie! But I heard your voice and knew instantly that it was you! Ah and how'd your eyes change color? Can mine do that too? Is that a new power? Oh, my Gosh! That would be so cool to change appearance!" Nudge was thankfully smothered by Iggy's hand. "Thanks, Iggy," I laughed. Iggy instantly scooped me up into a hug after I said something. I squeaked loudly at the surprise of this and Iggy just held onto me tighter. I smiled and hugged him back. Then there was a massive clearing of throat-age. I peered around Iggy to find Max seeming confused. "Sorry, I'll take out the contacts now," I said and pulled off the pair of glasses. "Glasses, nice touch," Fang commented. I nodded. "Want to try them on?" I asked and offered as I tilted my head back and blinked awkwardly before I plucked out the contacts. I reached in my bag with the opposite hand and pulled out the small case before plopping them into the liquid. I shook the odd feeling out of my head.

"What happened?" Max asked absently. I grinned at her. "Nice; I can't come by and see you guys for no reason whatsoever?" I asked. "Besides, I told you I was coming over." I snorted and shrugged. Max raised an impatient eyebrow and I sighed. "My parents believe I'm dead," I stated with a mere shrug. Max frowned at this. "And what? You just come here?" She questioned with an "uh-uh" type tone. "They moved out, leaving all my belongings behind and a newspaper with my obituary in it saying that I was shot to death by robbers because they replaced my body and staged my death so my parents and brother wouldn't ask any questions." I said and gasped for breath. How did Nudge do it? "I dyed my hair and got contacts plus glasses for a disguise so that no one would recognize me by my school picture and ask how the hell I am still alive." I finished.

Max bit her lip, trying to decide whether to be sympathetic, welcoming or give me a boot in the butt. I rolled my eyes. "You offered I'm here; I'll help with Itex so I can go to my mommy and daddy and say 'ta-da, I'm alive'." I said simply, tilting my chin high so that no one would dare to object. Max narrowed her eyes in my direction. "And what makes you think we need your help?" She scoffed. I raised an eyebrow tilting my head lower. "With Mel on the bad-boy team? You need an immortal," I scoffed. "Plus I've been waiting to kill her since she stole my apple juice in first grade," I growled, mainly to myself. Oh, how I remember that day.

That had been the apple juice given to me by Todd Moscow, my first crush, and she had snatched it up like it was nothing. I had had temper issues even back then and I slammed her head into the wall. She slammed back and that was the beginning of our vendetta. "Apple juice is what started what you and Melinda have?" Max scoffed. I rolled my eyes. "We slammed each other's heads into the walls." I said with a shrug. "IN FIRST GRADE? WHAT THE—?" Max was cut off by Fang slapping his hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't swear in front of the kids. "We were very disturbed kids," I muttered and clasped my hands in front of me as if in prayer. Max raised an eyebrow. "Okay, we had anger issues, so SUE US!" I cried out in annoyance. Did she _want _to get her head ripped off? Because I would oblige happily if she does! I shook the thought out of my head. "Anyways, the Wicked Witch has my blood in her system so she's immortal until I say so." I explained. Max frowned at this. She obviously didn't like the idea of not being able to defeat someone. "We'll think about letting you help us," Max said. I frowned and cocked an eyebrow at her. Did she really have any say in it? I would only stalk them and defeat the baddies either way.

"Believe it or not, I want to see my mom and dad." I said, crossing my arms stubbornly. "And partially my brother," I said with a shrug. "But that's partial." I muttered. In full truth I didn't care who I saw; I just wanted the outside world to know I was alive. Because I was. I was alive. I was just screwed up with cheetah genes in my already screwed up immortal body and I've gone through the experience of hundreds of deaths while living enough to feel every second of the pain of healing rapidly. Okay, mom and dad; put up with THAT!

_**AN: **_ Okey-doke, my lovey-dovey readers! Here's Ellie knowing the truth about what happened and later there will be more FAX but for now we'll get around to the OC x Iggy. I enjoy my OC' s. There will be more OC' s and some of the not-so-seen characters such as this; Max II (good now), Jeb, Ella (NOT WITH IGGY but I do support them) and MORE! You got to love MORE. Or maybe some Dylan? I don't know. TUNE IN!


	6. Sight and the Only One he wants to See

I don't know how it ended up like this. One day I'm finding out that my parents believe I'm dead and the other I'm running around with a bunch of bird kids and Dr. Martinez and Ella. Dr. Martinez and Ella are actually really nice. I think it's because of what I've been through that they're extra nice. Or maybe it's because in a way, I'm kind of like Max. In another way I was just trying to get through life. I was just trying to hold onto my sanity if I had any left. Ah, hell, who am I kidding? I have no sanity left. I've been killed hundreds of ways, I'm part cheetah, I make lousy jokes to humor myself, I hang out with bird kids, need I GO ON?

I threw my head into my hands against my knees and groaned inwardly. I was outside in Dr. Martinez's backyard while the Flock was up in the sky. I was sitting in a patio chair next to the humans; Dr. M and Ella. As much as I liked them I wasn't so madly deeply as I was with the Flock. I was tired. I wanted some sleep without getting captured. For the past two weeks, I haven't had that. I was either already captured or about to get captured or was in cheetah form. "Is it alright if I go to bed?" I asked Dr. M. I didn't feel right going to bed without asking the owner of the house. "Oh, of course, dear! It's just upstairs to the right is the guest bed." Dr. M said with a soft smile. I think there was just a dash of pity in that smile. Oh, yay for me…

I offered a small smile back before standing up and heading inside. I yawned tiredly as I passed the kitchen to the stairs to go up them. I was so exhausted that my body moved quicker with anticipation of a nice, warm bed. I entered the guest room tiredly with my eyes darting to the inviting warm bed. The life of a fugitive; it was exhausting. I was almost always tired and I hadn't even had as much as the Flock had. I was such a wimp…

I blinked tiredly, not bothering to get unchanged as I crawled underneath the comforters. I was halfway asleep when there was a knock at the door. I frowned and groaned in response. The person only knocked again. "Come in!" I called as I pulled off my jacket seeing as it was too bulky to sleep in, even if it was form-fitting in a way. I yawned again and sat up, tossing the jacket to the chair on the opposite end of the room. It fell off. I frowned and turned to the person in the doorway. Iggy was leaning up against the doorframe. "Hiya, Igs," I grumbled and dropped my head to my hands. "Come on in," I muttered and let myself fall back onto the pillows. Iggy did so and walked in, sitting at the foot of the bed. "What's up?" I asked. Iggy shrugged. "I don't know. Are you alright?" Iggy asked, turning his sightless eyes to me. I frowned at this. "Yeah, why would you think I wasn't?" I asked and shifted in the bed so I was sitting up again. Iggy shrugged again and I rolled my eyes but didn't bother telling him. "I don't know; you just seem a bit…glummer than before." Iggy said and pulled his legs up onto the bed. "Take off your shoes so that Dr. M doesn't get mad about mud on the bed." I told him and pointed at his shoes, even if the gesture was pointless. Again, the disadvantages of having a blind best friend…

Iggy rolled his sightless eyes but complied anyways. "I might seem glummer, Igs, because my family believes that I'm dead." I said with a cocked eyebrow. Wasn't this a bit obvious? I think I kind of earned to be 'glum'. "Why don't you just go to your family and tell them 'hey, I'm alive'?" Iggy joked. I rolled my eyes. "I'm rolling my eyes, Iggy," I said. "And I don't know; it might be a good thing that they think I'm dead." I said. Iggy furrowed his slim red eyebrows at this in pure confusion. I smiled at the innocent look that the Pyro got. "That means that Itex won't go after them for information on me. They won't be in danger and I won't have to take on that guilt." I said. Iggy sighed and uncrossed his arms, falling back on the bed beside me. I kept myself hoisted on my elbows though, facing him as I talked. "I just don't want to have to go through knowing that someone from my family was put in danger because of me." I said.

Iggy groaned and closed his eyes. "That's just…you're doing too many things for them." Iggy said. I frowned at this. "What do you mean? I'm barely doing anything," I scoffed. "You left them so they would be safe, you gave up your full name, you're trying to go with us so that you can go back. It's a bit all…none of it's for you. Well maybe except for the last part but that helps them too." Iggy said. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Are you saying I'm too selfless?" I asked, just for confirmation.

"That's the word!" Iggy said and snapped his fingers before pointing at me. I rolled my eyes. "Again the roll of my eyes, Iggy; I'm not selfless. I'm doing all of this for me. I'm just trying to get out of the guilt, I gave up my full name a long time ago and I'm going with you just so that I can go back to a luxurious life." I reminded him. "Plus to get the satisfaction of killing Mel," I added with a shrug. "That's for me too!" I cried out. Iggy opened his eyes only to roll them then closed them again. "You are so stubborn." He grumbled. I shrugged again and yawned. "I want sleep," I muttered and closed my eyes as I dropped back against the pillows.

Iggy gave a yawn. "Damn it; yawns are infectious. That's a DISEASE!" He cried out with exaggerated panic. I rolled my eyes inwardly and rolled over onto my side for a more comfy position. "Just go to sleep," I muttered and raised my arm up beneath the pillow so that it tilted and allowed my head to slant on the pillow in a more comfortable position. Iggy frowned. "I don't think I'm supposed to be sleeping in the same bed as you." He mumbled. I shrugged, not bothering to open my eyes. "It doesn't matter." I answered and curled into a ball beneath the covers.

Then my mind flashed to my mom and my birthday breakfast. "Happy fifteenth," I whispered to myself and turned over. "Happy birthday, Ellie," Iggy whispered to me and reached his hand out. I smiled over at him and turned over again so that I was facing him again. I took his hand in mine. "When's your birthday?" I asked him. He just merely shrugged. "I don't know. We don't know our real birthdays." Iggy said. I frowned at this. "Choose one," I said. "Okay…um, December seventeenth." He answered. I smiled at this. "That's a good day." I said and closed my eyes again. "Just go to sleep." Iggy chuckled. I nodded against my pillow, still clutching onto Iggy's hand for dear life. Iggy was now my lifeline. He was the only thing keeping me insane. But I liked it.

**Max's POV: Flying on Cloud 9:**

We were flying up in the sky, too high for anyone nearby to see unless they were looking through binoculars or a telescope. It was Angel, Fang, Gasman and me. Iggy had gone to check up on Ellie. If you asked me, they were kind of how Fang and I once were. They'd gotten close and they've had their moments from here to there. I'm not so sure if I like that. I mean, I think of Iggy as a brother and I know Fang is my one and only. But Iggy's the closest thing I've had to a twin and he'll always be part of my Flock. Ellie was an outsider. She wasn't part of the Flock no matter what everyone else says. She didn't go through years on end at the School; she went through three days.

Ellie had parents and a brother. The rest of the Flock didn't. But then again, I did have a sister and a mother (Jeb still hasn't made the cut yet). Did that make me an outsider too? No, because Iggy had parents too. He just didn't stay with them because they were stupid assholes who didn't deserve Iggy as a son. Ellie was going through a rough time, obviously. But that wasn't going to mean that she could just up and take Iggy from us! I don't know if I like Ellie; she did change her appearance out of the blue and now she looks so different from before. But now there's an issue if I were to, say, approve: what the hell? She was a cat, he was a bird. She. Will. Eat. Him.

Iggy will never be eaten as long as I'm alive. This means that I'll have to keep an eye on Ellie. "Have you seen Iggy and Ellie?" I asked Fang as he paused near me when he noticed me hovering. "He just went to check on Ellie and she went to bed." Fang answered with a shrug. I nodded and dove down. And when Ellie leaves, Iggy will be heartbroken. It will be Fang all over again. I can't let that happen.

I landed neatly on the patio and smiled at mom and Ella. "I'm gonna go check on Iggy and Ellie." I said to them and nodded my head towards inside. Fang was behind me in an instant as I pulled open the sliding door. There was no getting around it. If I find a mass of feathers somewhere, I'll KILL HER. And Fang will help. Yay for beating Ellie to death! As you see, I do not like Ellie or Rachael or whoever the hell she is. She is an OUTSIDER. She will leave us the second that Itex is beaten. But won't we all? We might all just go separate ways once Itex is down. That thought depresses me.

I headed up the stairs to the guest room and opened the door without knocking. If they were doing the dirty I'd catch them red-handed (ignore that picture, Max, ignore that picture). But they weren't doing the dirty or the nasty or anything. No they were…sleeping.

Ellie was resting on one end of the bed in her gray tank top with her pale skin exposed just barely and her arm leading to the center of the bed. Her now-brown hair was spread out around her at its new length, surrounding her head and covering her face. Her hand was in the center of the bed, enclosed in another pale hand, melding in with her snow white skin. Iggy had his hand enclosed in hers, her chipped black nail polish clashing with his dirty overgrown fingernails (we really needed to clean those). He was above the sheets in his jeans and his white T-shirt. His own red hair was splayed out around his face and his large brown wings were spread out on both sides of him, slightly covering Ellie's body but not too much. He was snoring just softly while Ellie was silent and the only sound she made was the slight forced breathing she had.

Fang tapped my shoulder, telling me it was time to leave them to their well-deserved rest. I smiled softly at the sight. They were too adorable in that position, even if I did hate her guts for deciding to leave us. They were too peaceful to disturb. I didn't want to wake them so I closed the door softly behind me as I followed Fang out. "He's getting too attached," I muttered as I glanced back at the door. "There's a chance that her parents won't accept her new species. There's a chance that she could choose to stay, like you did except with the occasional visit to her parents." Fang suggested with a raised eyebrow. I frowned at this. I hadn't thought so much about that. "But there's a chance that she won't stay. He has to be prepared for that, Fang." I said and glanced at the door again, my mind flashing to that picture of them in the bed that was now burned in my mind. In all my time with Iggy, never had he been so peaceful. There'd always been a sort of forced labor. He was just peaceful now, relaxed.

I didn't want him to go off his guard but I didn't want him to always and forever be like us; alert and awake. Iggy deserved to have his peace just as Fang and I did. "He does but there's also the chance that he'll go with her, Max." Fang informed me. This pulled me to his attention. "He wouldn't do that." I said, shaking my head. Iggy wouldn't leave us; he would keep shutting Nudge up and building bombs with Gazzy and calling Angel a creepy telepath. He would keep on being third in command. He wouldn't leave us. Would he?

I shook my head one final time before leading Fang out. "Let's just go back to flying," I muttered and took to the air. Fang followed close by. And with that new flight, I was back on Cloud 9.

**Iggy POV: Her colors:**

White. Pale. Brown. Soft? I could feel all of these erupt in my senses as I gradually woke up. Oh; these were all of Ellie's new colors. She'd dyed her hair. Right. But who knew she was so pale. And when I clasped my hand opposite of the one that held hers around her wrist, it was even scrawnier than mine. She was sickly thin. She had to eat or something.

I was instantly filled with worry for Ellie. She was thin, she was pale, she was unhealthy. Then I heard something. It was a groan from nearby. It was Ellie. Was she in pain? No. It was just her in her sleep. "Iggy," She breathed. I instantly snapped my eyes open even though that wouldn't do anything. But I couldn't see. I couldn't see her. And again there was nothing. Then I blinked. And something happened. I don't know how. Everything was blurry, insanely blurry. But it was all _there_. I let go of Ellie. Was this a power of hers? Healing? But even as I let go of her hand and waved my hand in front of my face, I saw it! It was blurry but it was there. I blinked my eyes and there were several smudges of color. I could make out a fuzzy image of the window across the room. It was dark out and the flimsy curtains were flailing around in the wind. Someone left the window open. I stood up from the bed and scrambled over to the window. I pressed my hands against the windows. And instead of feeling the colors I could SEE them. I blinked again, wondering if this would go away.

Then my eyes turned to the mirror that I spotted in the corner of the room. If I just squinted I could see a bit better. I squinted my eyes at the full-length mirror and grinned as I saw my image for the very first time in…how long was it? I don't know. But I could see me. I could actually see. And while I might need glasses, I was about to cry with joy. But nope! Don't want to be a pussy.

My frame was different from the last time I'd seen myself (well, duh, that was years ago). I was taller than I'd thought I'd be. My hair was the same shade of red that I'd always felt. My skin was pale, just as pale as I'd felt Ellie as. I had small brown freckles but they were barely even there, hidden under my pale skin. I only saw them because I looked really close. I was wearing a white T-shirt with a V-like neckline and a pair of jeans. Then my eyes saw the bed in the reflection. _Ellie. _

As creepy as this may sound, I wanted to see her. I just wanted to see her. I would be able to see her reaction. I would be able to see her. I grinned like a freaking whacko as I approached her. But then I saw her face. And I realized this must be what peaceful looked like. She was dangling over the edge of the bed by now. Her arm was dangling over the edge of the mattress, just barely scraping the rough dark carpeting. I could see the vague image of her brown hair. And then, instead of looking at the colors, I looked at the shape. I could see her shape.

Ellie was small, petite I guess you'd say. She was flipped onto her stomach so I could see the curve of her back and the way her head was bent awkwardly. She was sickly thin but her face didn't look like it. Her cheeks were full, healthy looking with just a small dash of a red blush (probably from the cold) on her slightly freckled cheeks. Her hair was splayed out over her face in a way that made her look even more peaceful but I could see her cringe every few times that the strands would brush against her cheeks. Her eyebrows were slim, the perfect size and shape.

Ellie wore a gray tank top but the rest of her was covered by the blanket. I carefully reached forward, trying to make my aim precise as to not jab her in the eyes, and wiped her hair from her face. Thankfully she sensed my touch and she leaned her head into my hand. Even though she was unhealthy and pale and skinny as hell, Ellie was still beautiful. She gave another slight groan before squinting her eyes open and looking up at me. "Iggy?" She grumbled in a dry, scratchy voice. She was just a bit groggy, obviously. I grinned at her and she offered a smile back. And that was all it took. I completely lost my breath at that.

Ellie had the most beautiful, radiating smile upon her plump pink lips and the greatest smoky blue eyes that I'd ever seen (excuse that but I really mean it). She had a sort-of feline curl to her lips that made her smile extra sexy. "Your eyes are…clearer." Ellie grumbled and hoisted herself up onto her elbows. Her face contorted slightly in confusion but it was just about the cutest thing that I would ever see. "What happened?" She asked, suddenly her voice slightly panicked and she cleared her throat to get the dryness out of her throat. I shook my head, unable to say anything. Finally I cleared my own throat. "Um, I can…" I muttered. "I can see, Ellie," I whispered to her, feeling my shoulders slump in anticipation. Ellie blinked tiredly. "This is a nice dream." She mumbled and fell back against the bed. I'd have to tell her in the morning again so that she would comprehend it. Okey-doke. I chuckled to myself at her reaction and shook my head in disbelief. Besides, this could only be temporary. I'd have to sleep in order to test it out.

I grinned as I walked around the bed to the other side. But the room had grown colder due to the open window. I climbed under the bed covers and smiled to myself, a bit softer now that I was a bit over the new high I was experiencing. _Please, God; let me see the morning. _

**Ellie POV: Crush at first sight:**

I had the STRANGEST dream ever last night. Iggy had actually been able to see! But I don't really understand how that would ever work. I mean, he was permanently blinded by the surgery he'd told me about. I don't understand how that would even work. Plus he was squinting in my dream so he mustn't have been able to see very well. I was kind of sad when I woke up. It was morning now and the window was closed from where it'd been open last night. I had left it open 'cause I like the breeze. I frowned.

Iggy must've closed it last night 'cause he got cold. I imagined him feeling around, searching for the source. And again, my sadness struck in. I blinked awake, noticing slightly that my hair was tucked behind my ear. That was odd…that happened in my dream too. But Iggy was Iggy; he wouldn't do that. That would be counted as an intimate gesture; he doesn't like me that way.

I yawned tiredly, stretching my arms overhead and thanked God that I had shaved yesterday when I'd taken my shower. My yawn turned into a sort of meow and I rolled my eyes at the sound. It only figured. I rolled my shoulders as I sat up in bed and went over to the door. My bag was still downstairs. I noticed that Iggy was out of bed. What? I yawned again as I opened the door. I must be a late morning person. Well, I have always woken up to alarm clocks so I guess not having that annoying BEEPING sound in my ear in the morning let me sleep in a bit. It was bright out today.

I headed down the stairs to get to the living room. There was a slight chatter from the kitchen as usual and Nudge was squealing more than usual. "What's up?" I asked as I entered the kitchen groggily. Iggy rolled his…wait, clear! His CLEAR blue eyes! I blinked my eyes again and looked at him. No fog over his eyes, no hazy look. He wasn't obviously blind. Iggy grinned at me and I couldn't help but offer a small smile back. "Um…" I muttered. "Nice, let's get onto another syllable!" Iggy cried out jokingly. He just kept grinning and I furrowed my brow before widening my eyes. "Is this…huh?" I asked, reaching back behind my head to scratch my neck. I frowned at this. Was this a really sick joke? Or was he a clone and he replaced the real Iggy? I'LL KILL ITEX!

I licked my chapped lips as I tried to comprehend this. "So…you can see?" I questioned suspiciously. Iggy frowned jokingly at me and cocked an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Or is this a really sick joke by a certain lab that starts with an I and ends with an X?" I questioned. "Even if it was, would you expect them to come right out and say it?" Iggy scoffed and gave me a 'give me a harder question' look. OH, yeah, that was IGGY! I squealed and instantly threw myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck instantly and he didn't hesitate in wrapping his own arms around me. For a few moments we just stayed like that. Then Max decided to chip in with her telltale throat-clearing.

I rolled my eyes and let go of Iggy. He reluctantly let go and grinned at Max. She surprisingly smiled back. "Is it just clear or what?" Max asked suddenly. "Everything's a bit fuzzy but it's all there." Iggy said with a shrug, still grinning like a madman. I bit my lip to hold back the laughter at how ridiculously happy he looked. Just seeing my best friend like that made me want to sing out loud. Iggy suddenly gave a loud yawn and headed to the appliance part of the kitchen. I watched him carefully, making sure he didn't stumble or fall from the sudden lack of vision. That thought instantly made me frown in slight despair. Was it permanent or temporary?

"What?" Max asked cautiously, obviously glaring at me. I frowned at her. "Is it temporary or permanent?" I asked. And now the sound all cut out from the kitchen. "If it was temporary then it would've cut out by now." Iggy said with a reassuring smile in my direction. And that just cut out all my worry. I grinned back and nodded. "Mm-hmm," I hummed and headed out to go get my stuff so I could get changed.

=e=E=e=

I was changed for the better by now. If Iggy was able to see then I had a reason to look good. But I had to keep it extra-casual so that the others wouldn't suspect that I was trying harder. That meant no ball gowns and no lingerie. Wait; what the fuck? Why would I even think that? Iggy's my best friend, not my boyfriend that I have to impress. I still decided to choose my pair of good dark skinny jeans and an extra-slim black belt with thick silver studs on it to add to the hardcore look. I pulled on a black camisole and my black leather jacket that seemed to fit me slightly better today. The shoulders were subtler today and the sides clung onto my torso down to my waist. It was looking better today. I pulled on one of my necklaces, a silver chain with a metallic plate with ELLIE stamped into it obviously. I grinned at the look and glanced at my hair. I'd taken a shower so my hair was only slightly damp.

The brown color stood out more and made me want to lick it and see if it really was chocolate. But I didn't want to taste my shampoo this early. I combed through my hair and then pulled it into a pair of ponytails on either side of my head. It was a cute look but I decided to drop the jacket. I left the jacket on top of the bed and pulled on my high tops. When I finally exited the room, no one was in the house. They were probably back outside. I went through the sliding door just in time to see Dr. M and Ella sit down in the chairs. I took a seat at the end of the chair beside Dr. M and looked up into the sky, shading my eyes with my hand to see appropriately. "It's great that Iggy got his sight back." I heard Ella say but I ignored her. "Say, Ellie," Ella suddenly giggled. I turned to her, my head tilted slightly. "Are you and Iggy going to go out like Fang and Max?" Ella giggled. I frowned at her then blinked. What?

"Why would you say that?" I asked as I failed at trying to hide my blush. Ella smirked and rolled her dark brown eyes. Ella looked a lot like Dr. M. She had the tan Hispanic skin and same eyes. Her hair was a long black mane down her back and right now she wore a yellow and white striped camisole over her generous chest. Below that she wore a pair of denim Capri's and her own pair of white Converses. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, just slightly lagging to the right. I hadn't thought about Iggy (LIAR!) really. I mean, Iggy was my best friend. And even if I did want to date him, Max would never allow it. And Max was the leader of the Flock; what she says goes. "Well, because you two are almost always flirting and he's obviously into you as much as you're into him." Ella answered with a smirk. At this all blood left my face. Say huh?

"We don't flirt," I scoffed nervously as I turned back to look at the Flock up in the bright sky. "You know, we can just pay for the lenses and Iggy can use my frames." I stated to change the subject. "I mean, I can pay for his lenses. In fact, if you just drive us down to the eye-doctor I'm positive that I could pay for his lenses and all." I said to Dr. M. She grinned at me. "That's a wonderful idea but you don't have to pay; I can pay for them." Dr. M said. I smiled back. "No, that's really alright. I have some cash over in my bag and I could use it for that." I said. I had enough. Dr. M frowned and shook her head. "No way are you paying for them. I will pay." She said with a finalized tone. Oh, crap; did I strike a nerve? "Alright, if you insist," I said casually. In truth I was just a bit scared.

Dr. M grinned and nodded. "C'mon, Iggy!" Dr. M cried out and stood up. "We're going to get you your glasses!" She called up to the Flock. The entire Flock landed. Everyone would be going, obviously. "Okay, I'll go get the frames so that we can get the lenses fit." I said and headed inside. Thankfully Dr. M just shrugged it off and I went inside. I headed to my bag and reached in, pulling out my fake glasses. I pulled out my contacts as well and placed them in my eyes. "Why are you doing that? You don't have to use contacts here. I don't think anyone's gotten a newspaper with your face on it." Iggy chuckled. I rolled my eyes and held out the frames. "Like them? They're your new frames unless you want other ones." I said and reached in my bag, grabbing my wallet full of money just in case. "Let me just go get my jacket before we leave," I said and headed to the stairs, leaving him with the frames.

Once I came back downstairs Iggy was waiting, testing out the glasses. "These are completely useless," He said. I laughed at that. "We have to get different lenses, Iggy. Those are fake lenses because I don't need glasses." I explained to him as I walked in front of him outside. He followed obediently with Max close behind him. She gave me a pointed look before heading on ahead. Fang just shrugged to me, indicating he didn't know what her problem was. I walked beside Iggy to the minivan that Dr. M owned. Thankfully it just barely had enough room for us. I was on one side of the three-seated middle row with Iggy in the middle and Nudge on the other side. Max sat in the back with Fang, Gasman and Angel. I quickly buckled my seatbelt and Iggy did so too but stared ahead, just letting his hands do the job. It must be a habit because he wasn't used to being able to look and see the belt.

I smiled reassuringly at him and Iggy shrugged as he tried on the frames again. I got to say he was like a child in a toy store. "So…what does 'Mel' look like again?" Iggy asked and grinned at Angel. "Don't, Angel," I muttered. Max cackled quietly to herself. "If I have any say, none of you will ever see Mel again." I said. "Ah, c'mon, Ellie; she just loves you." Iggy cooed.

I shot a glare at him and he cringed back. OH, yay! Glares work on Iggy now! "She is a despicable being that deserves to die." I said, trying to hold onto my dignity. Inside, I was swooning at how Iggy looked with my glasses on him. Angel giggled from the backseat. My shields were obviously down. "Yes, they are." Angel giggled. I rolled my eyes. My instincts must've trusted her by now. "What?" Iggy asked, turning halfway in his seat to look at Angel. And that was a miracle in itself. I frowned at Angel. "Don't tell him," I mouthed to her. She just smiled back at me. "Nothing," She said to Iggy. I tugged on Iggy's shirt, pulling him back.

We finally made it to the nearest Optim-Eyes and headed inside. There were rows upon rows of frames that looked like they would look awesome on Iggy. I instantly felt kind of disappointed. I was kind of hoping Iggy would wear my glasses. Iggy saw my disappointment and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "What's up?" He asked, obviously concerned. "Nothing," I said with a slight shrug. Iggy just shrugged it off and gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze before heading away to look at the cool glasses.

**Iggy's POV: Wonderful World of Glasses and the only one I want to see:**

I tried on the several types of glasses but none of them really fit. Not like the ones that Ellie had given me anyways. I didn't want any of them adjusted either. I mean, they were all cool and all but Ellie's glasses really fit me. I liked how I looked in them but that might just be because they were Ellie's glasses that I wanted them. In full truth, I couldn't wait to see Mel in just a teeny tiny bit. I mean, Ellie was…well, she was Ellie. And I'm a guy; lesbian lovers are about the sexiest thing to my mind. It's just natural attraction.

I spotted Ellie in the background in the mirror. She had her back facing us and she was browsing through the glasses selection. She had her arm raised and had pulled down a pair of glasses. Her hair was split in a pair of ponytails strung over her shoulders to her front but I couldn't see them. Instead my eyes darted to the section of her back that was exposed because her shirt had ridden up and the belt wasn't working on her pants. The brim of her black boxers was showing and…oh, my God. She had a tattoo. I could see it but it was blurry so I couldn't make it out. Oh, crap. I couldn't wait to find out just what the hell that tattoo was. It was just a mass of black near her ass right now. Ellie turned around, holding a pair of glasses and was currently eyeing them.

New sight plus hormones equals me looking at Ellie's boobs. And man, were they awesome! Fang slapped my arm lightly and I turned to look at him. He raised an eyebrow as Ellie approached us. "Oops," I muttered. I'd been caught by…well, I don't know if Fang is supposed to be an older figure or if he's supposed to be a brother. I don't know. Either way I was caught by freaking Fang, man! He smirked slightly as Ellie offered me a pair of glasses. "Here, try these on," She said. She seemed kind of happy with her selection. I smiled my thanks to her and was gratefully rewarded with a smile of her own. And it was her own. No one person could be able to radiate a smile as much as Ellie did. No one could make that cat's curl look that sexy. No one on this Earth would be able to match her perfection.

I placed the frames on my face and looked in the mirror. They were kind of cool. There was no bottom around the lenses and it was just clear up until the stems which were a cool metallic blue. "These are awesome," I scoffed in disbelief as I stared at them. I liked Ellie's glasses better but I wanted these ones to call my own. Besides, I wanted to see Ellie with her glasses. All the other mental images that Angel had sent me about Ellie hadn't done her justice so I wanted to see her with her glasses on and see how perfect she made them look.

I grinned at the glasses and then turned to grin at Ellie. She smiled back, beaming brightly and obviously cheered up from earlier. Dr. M decided it was then she wanted to come up to us. "Are those the ones you want?" She asked. I nodded and took off the frames to hand to her. I didn't know how to get lenses fit. "First we'll need to get you checked out to see what type of lenses you need then we'll need to buy them." Dr. M said. I nodded and followed her over to the counter.

**Ellie's POV: Glad He liked it:**

I waited with the rest of the Flock for Iggy to come out of his appointment. When he came out he was rubbing his eyes and blinking in the light. "What happened?" I asked and stood up. Did he already lose his sight again? Did his sight get worse? Did it get better? "It was dark in there, man," Iggy grumbled and I sighed in relief. He was just getting adjusted to the lighting in here. I nodded. "They often do have to dim the lights." I said. Gasman walked over to Iggy and the two went off into a corner. They often do that and I don't intrude. If I learned about their explosive plans (literally) then I would be roasted by Max later. I didn't want to have to go through that (again). I instead went over to the counter to see what type of lenses he got. I wasn't an absolute expert but I knew that ten-ten vision wasn't good. It was only half the sight he was supposed to have. I frowned. But then again he didn't used to have sight before; maybe it would get better later on. "Go take these over to Iggy and have him test them out before I buy them." Dr. M said to me and handed me the glasses. I nodded and headed over to Iggy. "Here ya go; test them out so that we know if they're any good." I said and held out the glasses. Gazzy watched, biting his lip in anticipation. Iggy's eyes grew wide as he placed the glasses on his face. "Wow! These are great!" He cried out. I grinned at this. I was happy he liked them.

"Okay, let us just go pay for them so you can actually keep them." I chuckled and took the glasses to the counter again. The person marked the computer and logged him into a file under Jeff Martinez. "Okay, now here they are." The woman said with a faux cheery smile. I picked up the glasses and took them over to Iggy. He put them back on, grinning as he could see. I enjoyed that. I smiled at Iggy and gave a thumb up sign. He laughed at that. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and the other around Gasman's shoulders. "Cool! Now we can really build bombs and we can make hand signs and—," Gazzy said. Thankfully Iggy slapped a hand against Gasman's mouth to shut him up. "Did you swap bodies with Nudge or something?" I laughed. Gasman frowned and stuck his tongue out, I'm guessing, but it only hit Iggy's hand. "Ew, gross, Gazzy!" Iggy cried out. "C'mon, man!" Iggy whined and swiped his hand against his pants. Meanwhile Gasman and I were cracking up.

When we finally calmed down (when we got to the car) then we all took our seats and we were headed off again towards Dr. M's house. Max sighed abruptly from her new spot next to Iggy. "We have our new destination…" Max said. I frowned at this. "And it's insanely ridiculous."

**AN:** If you're looking for humor than includes Vegas, Itex, "Mellie" (Mel and Ellie) and Ellie and Iggy action then you are seriously in the RIGHT PLACE! You belong here and this is where the rating has changed. Please do not flame me unless you find it insanely necessary. And this is where it all becomes massive and hilarious. Be prepared for shots of Vegas and we all know what Vegas is famous for…


	7. Las Vegas PART I

The first thing we did was we got IDs. You can't go into Las Vegas without an ID. I don't think they'll let you into the freaking CITY without an ID. I had mine as Elizabeth Monroe, Nudge as my adopted sister; Monique Monroe, Angel and Gasman were in the Ride family with Max and Iggy. Iggy was Jeff Ride, Angel as Crystal Ride and Gasman as Romeo Ride (which I thought was adorable). Finally Fang was supposed to be my brother which I was just a bit uncomfortable with. Of course it was only Iggy, Max, Fang and I that got our IDs along with Ella (who came along with Dr. M and us). Nudge was debated on it until finally Max pulled out her leader voice and said she didn't want to risk it. I almost burst out laughing when Nudge said that she wanted to be an adult so that she could marry Fang which just about pissed Max off!

We were going to have to go out later (undercover as Max keeps saying) so that we could do recon on the city to see what was wrong with it. Oh, I could tell you; Itex owns about half the joints in this entire city! Including the strip bars which Iggy and Fang keep saying they'll take. Like HELL they'll take them without me and Max! Then Dr. M said it wouldn't be necessary but that didn't really matter because we were all going to have to go with Iggy because he refused to "let his sight go to waste without seeing the natural beauties". I could tell you, half those bodies in the strip joints were NOT natural.

We were prepping in the hotel rooms, waiting for nightfall so we could go out later. Max and Ella and I had to get all dressed up for tonight while the boys just had to throw on a blazer and a T-shirt and they're cool. I would so kill them if I didn't love them to death. Gasman was still pouting about not being able to go. "Why can't I go?" He asked. "Again, I am not giving him the lesbian lovers talk." I said and pointed at Gasman. Did he even know who Romeo was? "No, he doesn't." Angel said as she swung her legs on the bed. She was pouting almost as much but she got over it about an hour ago when she was told that the younger ones were "protecting the hotel room and the hotel from peril" by Fang (which is about the most that I've ever heard out of his mouth).

We each were counted as in our twenties by our IDs. But Dr. M said that there was strictly no drinking whatsoever which I am completely cool with. I'd gotten drunk at one of the parties last year from one of my schoolmates and I was barfing for days with a splitting headache. I wanted nothing more than to just kiss alcohol goodbye forever and dump it all somewhere (if it wouldn't end the world). I looked at myself in the mirror and frowned. I was wearing a black corset with no middle so it showed off a large amount of cleavage and my navel with only what looked like yarn to tie it together. I had bought it once on a dare and had promised myself I'd never wear it out in public. Boy, was I ever wrong! This shirt could help save the world (hee, hee, hee). I wore a pair of low-riding black skinny jeans with straps down at the bottom that was placed at the soles of my feet to make sure that it wouldn't be able to be pulled back up. I had to pull my studded belt even tighter than usual to keep it from falling straight down to my knees.

"Remember here?" Fang chuckled suddenly to Max. She grinned back at him and I instantly raised an eyebrow. They'd been here before. "Did you two get married?" I cackled. Max smirked slightly to myself and I rolled my eyes. Bluff! I combed my hair and put in a goopy gel to replace hairspray (which Dr. M won't let me use because it "destroys the environment"). I waited until my hair had crusted into pencil-straight strands on either side of my head. There was a part that lagged in front of my face but I let that pass because it was cute. Finally I pulled the finishing touch out of my bag. A black rhinestone encrusted butterfly barrette. I pulled two crusty strands of my hair to the back of my head, leaving some strands in front and back so it would look casual. I pinned the thick strands to the back of my head and smiled at my reflection. But I couldn't wear my high tops. I flinched as I looked down at the shoes I'd have to wear. They were a pair of four and a half inch heeled black leather boots that reached mid-shin. They were cute but deadly; they were Angel! "Thank you," She said sweetly and I smiled back as I pulled on the only material that would have to act as a sheathe against the heels. They were a pair of thick black leggings that I folded just an inch above the estimated height that the heels would reach. Of course they peeked out from beneath the boots but that was the point. "Oh, my Gosh, you look so cute! I want to look like you one day. I mean, when Max will finally let me wear stuff like that. I love that top. Where'd you get it? I want one!"

The day was saved from Nudge's ear-piercing by Iggy's hand. I raised my newly nailed hand to smother my laughter. Nudge would never get this shirt with Max and Dr. M around. I had glued long acrylic talons to my nails and painted them a sleek black and had placed tiny crystal rhinestones on the centers of the nails. I was grateful for the lack of jewelry, all except my Ellie necklace. Then I took a moment to gawk at Iggy.

I think that Fang had given him a haircut over in the bathroom because now his shaggy hair was clipped to just below the ear, enough to be called clean. He had pushed a seat of "windswept" bangs to the right side of his face. His bright blue eyes were brighter than ever and I just now recognized a small silver hoop in his left ear (I don't care which one says he's gay, he's straight!), only adding to the clean crisp look that he held. Iggy was wearing a pair of jeans along with a gray V-neck and a black blazer along with a pair of black loafers. It all made him look especially older.

I bit my lip to keep from gawking again and I grinned at Iggy. He was slightly flushed as he eyed my outfit. I grinned even wider at this. He was just as impressed. I was glad. I reached over and picked up my blue wallet, tucking it neatly in my back pocket, the only pocket that was allowed any breathing room, even with my tiny size. Nudge giggled from the background and I turned to look at her. "You're not gonna wear your contacts?" Nudge asked, hope ringing in her voice. I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm not going to wear them here. I doubt that anyone from Michigan will be here of all places." I said. Nudge just shrugged and sighed, probably daydreaming about the day she'd wear stuff like this whore-wear.

I turned to spot Max and Fang. Max was just about as beautiful as the first time I'd seen her if not more so. She wore a red knit V-neck top that rode up just barely to show off her navel along with a pair of denim Capri's and a pair of fishnets peeking out from under the Capri's. Then she wore a pair of black strappy high heels. She had her hair pulled way up high on top her head in a ponytail with wisps falling down and faming her face in a curly luxury. She seemed nervous and uncomfortable in the wear that seemed innocent next to my outfit. "What do you think?" She asked. "I think I'll look like a prostitute next to you." I said and sighed dramatically. She even offered a grin at this.

Then there was Fang. He wore a pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt with a gray blazer and a pair of loafers. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail behind his head. "Go get your glasses, Igs," I said to Iggy and he shrugged before doing so. I smiled at the pair. "A freaking tiger?" Iggy suddenly cried out. I blinked at this. "What?" I asked him. He blushed as I whirled around on him. "Um, just noticed your tattoo…" Iggy mumbled, trying to cover. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. "This blows, man," Iggy muttered, looking down in shame. I chuckled and turned around. "Wait, I want to see!" Nudge cried out and shoved Iggy out of the way. I laughed as he stumbled back from the force that Nudge had applied. I rolled my eyes as Nudge pulled down my pants slightly. I yelped when I felt the rush of cool air on the tattoo on my back. "That is so cool!" Nudge cried out. I blinked and pulled my pants back up, hoping that no one would notice I was wearing that goddamned thong that Morgan had gotten me the same time that I'd gotten my tattoo.

The black lacy undergarment was giving me a permanent wedgie. I frowned and turned around so that no one would pull my pants down anymore. But I'd forgotten Fang. "Fang!" Max cried out in protest as he tugged the hem of my jeans down, making me yelp again. "Will everyone please stop pulling down my pants?" I cried out and slapped Fang's hands away. It was then that Dr. M appeared in the doorway with Ella. Ella was gone out in a cute way. She wore a denim miniskirt that rode up to show plenty of room above her knees and yet it still kept the important parts a secret. Her shirt was a long black one-shouldered shirt with three leather belts hanging off the hips of the tunic. She wore a black choker with the outfit and a pair of strappy black heels like Max's.

Ella's hair was pulled on top of her head in a genie-style ponytail with some wisps covering the sides of her face. She lit up at the sight of me. "Oh, that's such a cute outfit!" She cried out. What? Did I get changed just for the approval of her? No offense, El.

"Thanks," I said and tucked my wallet deeper into my pocket, hoping to God it wouldn't fall out. Iggy smirked and Fang rolled his eyes. Fang wrapped his arm around Max's waist and Iggy just folded his hands behind his back. I was kind of hoping he'd do the same but screw that if he wants to fucking fold his hands. Oh, yay, let's all fold our hands! NO! Angel giggled at my frantic thoughts and I sighed. Damn mind reader was back in my head at the most awkward part of my life; the genetic recombinant hybrid dating. I frowned. I'd bet that was more awkward than regular dating, too. That was just my luck.

I offered a calm smile to Iggy and he just grinned back. Ella snickered mainly to herself as she witnessed this. And then my eyes went to Dr. M. She looked…nice. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a smooth-looking burgundy oxford shirt that wasn't tucked in; le gasp! The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and the top two buttons were undone while the bottom button was undone as well to show the skin on her stomach. She wore regular black pumps and her black hair was let down all around her face. I guess she was going for sexy secretary tonight.

"Ellie, you look nice," Dr. M commented with a genuine smile. No doubt this was what she was thinking instead; SLUT! Angel laughed straight out this time and everyone turned to stare at her except for me. Instead I clapped my hands together as if in prayer. "Let's go," I said with a slight grin. Inside I was begging Angel not to share my thoughts with anyone. Dr. M seemed a bit concerned at Angel's random outburst. Oh, trust me; it had a pattern. "She's just laughing at my comical thoughts." I explained and grabbed Iggy by the hand. "Let's just go." I said and headed out the door. But inside I was bursting with bubbles at the fact that Iggy and I were holding hands. I mean, he wouldn't let me do that if he didn't like me, right? No, he wouldn't. But then again he could just be doing it out of pity for me because he knows I have a hopeless crush on him and…oh, great; mind babble.

Max, Fang, Ella and Dr. M followed behind Iggy and me as we exited the room and stepped down the hall. "What was that about?" Iggy laughed. "You don't want to know," I muttered and stood up straight in front of the elevator. I offered an embarrassed smile to Iggy who just smiled a little bit wistfully back. He was probably happy to see anything; it didn't matter if it was me or anyone else. I didn't matter to him. Did I?

**Iggy POV:**

If you want to know the truth I only stayed behind the girls in the elevator so that I could stare at Ellie's ass. Call me a pig. Fang was shooting glares to me for some reason; I guess he just didn't like any girl being treated like this. But that wasn't just about the only thing that I liked about Ellie. I liked Ellie because she ordered her cheeseburgers onion and pickle only, she drank Diet Pepsi even though she never went on a diet, she loved the color green, she left her family to keep them safe, she's beautiful and too many reasons to explain right now.

"We'll all split up after we go _there._" Max growled in annoyance. She, of course, was talking about the strip joints. Hey, I was fifteen! I needed to see some ass. And if I didn't get to stare at Ellie's then it might as well be a stranger's… or Fang's. That just about made me shudder right there and then. Ellie turned to me and blinked. God she looked so cute. I mean, who wouldn't want her? No wonder that 'Mel' chick turned for her. I smiled at her. "Are you cold?" She asked. "No," I answered and blushed. She must've seen me shudder and thought I was shivering. Dr. M and Ella were chatting happily about how they were going to go to the slot machines in the casino downtown while we were all at the strip joints.

Ellie gave a small shrug and turned to face the elevator. I had the major urge to just turn her around and kiss her then do…more. Wow, I'm glad as hell that Angel is not here. Without Angel I could be all the pervert I want! Okay, actually no because Max will stop me before I do anything perverted. Fang and Max were side by side instead of front and behind. LOL, man, LOL. I was just about to burst out laughing when the elevator doors opened. I followed Ellie out and Fang shot me a confused look. I just snorted in response. I yawned slightly and turned to find myself face to face with Ellie who'd switched to my side.

Nah, that couldn't mean that she wanted to be like Fang and Max. I mean, right? She doesn't like me like that. If she did we wouldn't be outside of the room. Or was that asking too much? I mean, if I was ever to get together with Ellie I wouldn't want to base our whole relationship on sex. I would want to base it off of food and board games and jokes and bombs. She liked bombs sometimes. She just refused to ever get the third degree from Max. I mean, not since her first few experiences with Max. And she covered pretty well for us when she was interrogated.

Ellie bit her lip as we both spotted the outside of the hotel. It was completely lit up with neon signs and several tourist attractions. I was so glad that I had gotten my sight back before we came here. I grinned as we exited the building. I had to shove my hands in my pockets to keep from either grabbing Ellie's ass or grabbing her hand. Both would be inappropriate. I mean, we're just friends. Right?

"Let's just go there so we can get this over with," Max muttered. Fang smirked while I was internally cheering. Dr. M and Ella were confused. "Where are you guys going?" Ella asked. I frowned at this. Ellie decided to cover. "We're going to some of the sports bars to catch a game that's on tonight. The guys want to see it." Ellie said as if she actually despised the idea. She probably did which would make it all the more convincing. "But we have to go to chaperone and make sure they don't get drunk." Ellie scoffed. I gawked at this. "I would not get drunk." I defended. Ellie shot me a glare which was…wow, that was scary.

I mean, her eyes were narrowed and her lip was curled up slightly to show the overgrown canine that she had. But all the while she still looked absolutely beautiful. "From there we'll split up into couples." Max said then wrinkled her nose. I frowned. She hated the idea of going with Ellie. "I'll go with Ellie," I said and took this chance to grab Ellie's hand. I mean, it was just claim, man. Both Ellie and Max seemed relieved at this. They were two rock-hard, stubborn as fuck girls who could seriously kick ass. They would be competing the entire time and might actually…you know, this might have been the wrong choice. I mean, they need to get the stress out. And if that involved Jell-O then SO BE IT!

I bit my lip as I considered this. Fang seemed to actually SENSE it and smirked at me, shaking his head in disapproval. Hey, was he a guy or a pussy? I leaned in next to his ear. "Jell-O," I whispered to him. He chuckled at the comment and shook his head again. "No," He said aloud, not caring if the girls heard him. Max seemed concerned for a bit then did some funky eye-conversation and freaking KICKED ME! "No being perverted," She growled at me. So this was the famous Fang-Max eye conversations that everyone talked about so freaking much! It really was quite impressive. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go," Ellie urged and blushed slightly with a raised eyebrow. She really should've brought a jacket. Even if it wasn't cold, I really didn't want to have to kick every guy's ass within the freaking seeing distance. She crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously but really that did nothing but make it worse. Her arms just pressed her breast up even higher. Okay, now my mind is just screwed up into hormonal fits right now. Inside I was a freaking two year old throwing a fit because I WANT ME SOME CANDY! Ellie is not a stranger and she's just offering her candy up on a platter. That is so completely not fair. I wanted to drag her upstairs right now and…not allowed. Angel is in that room and even if she wasn't a mind-reader, you best believe she be hearing that junk!

Ellie raised her eyebrows at me as I think I went on a Cloud 9 from my mental sex with her. "We'll get back to the hotel later," Max said to Dr. M and I watched the two leave but truthfully my mind was still in that room with a very begging Ellie. Oh, crap. Calm down, man. I was absolutely shocked that no one had realized I was thinking these thoughts. I glanced down. I really didn't want that problem tonight. Not until I got a chance alone with Ellie.

**Ellie's POV: The Stripper and Mel:**

We each walked into the neon signed strip bar. It was basically just your typical strip joint with a neon cowgirl showing off her cowgirl in a thong and barely there neon plasma towel. Iggy was so close to drooling that I wanted to beat the girls here and take their place just to impress Iggy. I glanced around. To the right we had a bar with three FEMALE bartenders in barely there black vests and denim miniskirts with bowties around their necks. The bar was full and I was actually a bit craving the buzz of a drink. If I was gonna throw up, I didn't want it to be because I saw Iggy and a cowgirl fu—

"Let's get our seats," Iggy said and cleared his throat gently. Don't think we missed the stares that Fang and Iggy got as we walked through the area. Of course we chose a black leather booth in the corner. I slid behind the table to the corner and Iggy got in around the other side. Fang and Max slid in next to Iggy and for that I was grateful. I did not want to be next to Max. If she got angry at Iggy's perverted activities I would have no hair pulled out. "So did anyone actually catch the name of this place?" I scoffed as I searched around. There was one female up on the catwalk, doing the splits vertically on the pole. Her thick blond ponytail fell back behind her and some men up from the front shoved a couple singles in her "fabulous" glamorous American flag bra. I will never look at an American flag the same way.

"Didn't you see it outside? It's the 'Cowgirl'," Max chuckled. I laughed out loud at that. "That's just horrible," I said. A woman came up to us. She was wearing a black apron around her waist, only showing the thin straps of the red thong and only two teeny tiny triangles for a bikini top. I was thankful that the small apron at least covered up her junk. She held a clipboard and had a white bowtie dangling lazily from her neck. Her long red hair was pulled up into a ponytail on the top of her head. The girl smiled at us. "What can I get ya'll?" She asked in a faux southern accent. I wanted to barf. I seriously wanted alcohol in my system so I'd have an excuse. "Um…four Cokes, clean." I answered, wrinkling my nose as if it was just a casual thought. The girl nodded. "Anything to eat?" She asked. _That depends; will you serve it from your ass? _"Not right now, thanks," I said and shook my head.

"Alright, my name is Tiffany and if ya'll need anything else just holler." The woman said and then she left. "I'm gonna corner her in an alley," I muttered to myself and leaned back in my seat. Iggy's eyes lit up. "No, down dog; that is not a sexual reference." I barked. Max rolled her eyes and turned to Fang. "If you dare do anything we don't find appropriate I will kick your ass." Max stated to him clearly. He just shrugged and leaned back in his seat. Suddenly I felt a tug on my hand and I was up. I frowned as I felt that small tugging. I looked down to find a tan hand around mine. "What…are ya doing?" I asked in a shocked mumble. The woman turned around and I completely gawked to find it was…Mel. "WHAT THE HE—," I cried out but she pressed a finger against my open mouth. "Shouldn't you be attacking me?" I said against her finger.

"I told you that eventually you will want me," Mel giggled and flipped her blond hair. I saw Max get up from the corner of my eye. "Oh, relax, kitty," Mel cooed and grasped my face in her hand. Wow; Mel was full out. She was wearing a blue bikini with small rhinestone-encrusted ribbons hanging off the ends of the bottoms. She wore a pair of blue slippers instead of any real shoes and her hair was done all up in glitter. Mel lifted my hand and twirled me in a circle. I didn't want to cause a scene but this girl was freaking me out. SHE'S MY ENEMY. And she was twirling me. "What the hell, Mel?" I scoffed as she stopped and just grasped onto my hands. She only grinned. "I got a special surprise!" She sang. I felt my eyes grow wide. When a person has a surprise in a strip joint it is either you getting whacked or you getting a sparkly bikini. "NO!" I squeaked and turned around. I was more horrified by the second choice. But I was matched in strength. "Ah, c'mon, Rachael," Mel whined and pulled me back by the waist. I think she was enjoying that. I. Am. Fully. Scared. Now.

"I don't want to go, Mel," I said and tried to run away. But I think my feet made welts into the floor. I could see Iggy and Fang trying to hold back their laughter and Max was just waiting to get her chance to blow off some steam. "Back up!" I cried out and tried to shove her away. But that wasn't working. Mel sighed and shrugged, abruptly letting me go.

"Fine, I'll leave," Mel huffed. I blinked up at her. "What? You're not even going to attack me?" I asked. She wasn't serious, was she? Or was she more serious about this whole lesbian lover thing than I thought? I shuddered slightly to myself. Mel pouted and helped me up from where I'd fallen. "Just after one thing." She stated with a happy look. Oh, great; a punch, right? Or does she want to kill me just once? Maybe she wants to make sure that I don't have any kids. But I was not prepared as Mel grabbed the back of my hair in a tight vice-like grip and pulled me straight to her.

I was not prepared for Melinda Gunderson to kiss me. DAMN LESBIAN! I was especially not prepared for her tongue either! I was completely frozen with shock; so much so that I couldn't even protest. Mel just kept right on. I heard wolf-whistles behind me and I blinked back into life. Whoa! Where was this bitch's tongue trying to freaking GO? Was she trying to choke me? I was finally let loose and I gasped for air. That bitch was COMPLETELY LESBO! I spat out the saliva that I think was hers onto the ground. "What the fuck, bitch?" I cried out. Mel just grinned and skipped her way out, grabbing her coat from the coat rack on her way out. Everyone was just left staring. I was completely scared now. The bitch will rape me!

I trudged back to our table to a gawking trio of who were supposed to be my friends. "Thanks a whole bunch for—," I was cut off by bile rising in my throat. I had to fight to keep it down. "That was…oh, my God." Iggy gasped, still gawking. Max burst out laughing and even Fang let out a full laugh. Iggy was still gawking. "Shut up, Iggy," I muttered. This was so totally gross! I had to get the Mel taste out of my mouth. I grabbed onto Iggy's shirt and slammed my lips up against his. He was completely shocked and so was Max and Fang. They weren't laughing anymore. But Iggy responded. I mean, first it was to get Mel's taste out of my mouth. But now…I know he likes me so I can just keep going!

But I had to retract and I gasped for living air. Iggy gasped just as much, his eyes glazing over in pure distraction. "That was not cool," Max growled. "What? I can't kiss Iggy?" I scoffed. I get why she would hate me for this but I didn't care. I wanted to make out with Iggy and I would (if he would let me). Fang just smirked and tugged Max back to the back of the seat. "That wasn't just to prove I'm not a lesbian, ya know." I stated with a slight scoff. "That was just a plus." I said. "And it was a fantastic opportunity so…shut up." I said as the blush rose to my face. I was about ready to die of embarrassment. If I could, that is.

Max just shook her head in disapproval. Fang smirked again and restrained Max. Iggy did the only thing reasonable for a fifteen year old boy who had an opportunity to make out; he took it. Iggy grabbed me by the waist and turned me towards him. Before I could get a single work out of my mouth I was already kissing him back. I tossed my arms around his neck.

That was how Iggy and I spent our hour and a half at a strip joint; making out. Max spent it growling at every thing that even resembled a female (because there were some things that you couldn't call a female but they were resembling) and snapping at every waitress that offered us food. "Okay, I think it's time to leave." Fang chuckled as he'd had to restrain Max from lunging at the redhead Tiffany (something about redheaded Wonders or something). "This is where we split up." Max sighed as we all exited the joint. By now my barrette was in my pocket, my wallet was in my front pocket and my hair was dry from that crusty old gel.

I think I might look like one of those freaked out models with the frizzy hair and wild makeup. Iggy kept his arm around my waist now, enjoying the blissful Cloud 9 that we were on. I was so tempted to just jump his bones. "We'll take east, you take west." I said to Max who nodded her agreement. Going opposite directions would mean we would be as far away from each other as possible.

=e=E=e=

Now don't blame me. Don't blame Iggy either. I mean, we could die any day now and it was more than likely because of our…well, our species. We were hybrids and hunted; we could die this very moment. But thankfully we didn't. Because I was standing there now in the borrowed white dress and high heels with a bouquet of lilies in my hand and a veil over my head.

I know what you're thinking; Rachael Elizabeth Kindy and Iggy getting married? That's insane. But yeah, we're insane. You remember what I told you about Iggy keeping me insane? Yeah; still loving it. I had my hair down my back yet combed now to neatness. I couldn't believe I was doing this sober; Max was gonna kill us when she found out. I had the damn veil in a barrette, holding my hair back from my face so that Iggy would be able to kiss me. The only thing he did was get a tie and comb his shaggy hair. But he was still the sexiest thing on Earth. The dress only reached my knees and the torso was in a scrunched up type of fashion (I never did learn the name of that type) with a pair of halter strings going up into a V shape.

Iggy was grinning like an idiot. "Do you Elizabeth Monroe take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The chapel priest requested in a dry, scratchy voice. Do you want to know what he said when we first came in here? 'Cash or credit?' "I do," I stated. Oh, crap, what if Iggy doesn't say it back? This was a whole deal, man! We were getting married! Of course we'd talked this through at the McDonalds but still…oh, shit; I'm the most desperate girl on Earth. "And do you, Jeff Ride, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest asked. I blinked at Iggy, biting my lower lip in anticipation. But then Iggy grinned even wider (if that's even possible) and nodded. "Hell yeah!" He cried out and scooped me up by the waist into his arms.

I squealed in his arms and wrapped my arms around Iggy's neck bringing my lips to him in feverous kiss. To tell you the truth I just wanted to have sex with Iggy lawfully. I mean, I'm his freaking wife now. "Your clothes are in the changing room." The priest coughed as Iggy unclipped the tie and tossed it at the priest. "I should go get changed." I muttered but Iggy just smashed his lips to mine again. "We'll pick up after I'm changed." I whispered into his ear and he let me down quickly. "Go," He said with a clear of his throat. I nodded and ran as fast as I could in those damn heels to get to the changing room. I got dressed quickly and headed out even quicker, leaving my shoes off so I was only wearing the leggings. I shivered slightly but didn't bother with taking Iggy's blazer by force.

Instead I threw myself into Iggy's arms and he picked me up bridal style. "We should call Dr. M and the others and let them know we won't be coming to the hotel tonight." Iggy breathed into my ear. I only grinned and shook my hair out. "We can call them after," I purred into his ear. I was too hyper to wait. I wanted Iggy…NOW.

=e=E=e=

"We think we have a lead but I'm not sure. It could be a dud." I lied into the phone. "We won't be able to come to the hotel tonight but just wait up." I said. Iggy was chuckling against my back, his lips pressed to my bare shoulder. But I was staring down at the golden banner that I wore on my left hand. My wedding ring. Oh, wow. I was dumb as hell. But I didn't care; Iggy went along with it. He was just as much to blame as me. I told him it might be a mistake. Iggy trailed a small trail from my shoulder up to my neck and then to right below my ear. I gasped inaudibly against the sensitive spot and gulped away the drool that was threatening. I so wanted Iggy again. But first we had to make sure that Max and the others didn't get worried. And telling them we're married would merit worry.

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to come down there?" Max asked. I almost burst out at her choice of words. "I'm sure; Iggy and I have this completely under control. We'll be back by morning." I said, trying not to laugh. We were major idiots! I'd met Iggy all of two, three weeks ago and I'm now married to him. Ah, who cares? "Alright but try and get back as soon as possible. Do you have your room key?" Max asked. I looked to the table where our pocketed belongings now sat; some loose change, my wallet, my barrette and the room key(s). Both of them. "Yep, got it right here," I said and held up the electronic room key.

"Alright but make sure to come back as soon as possible. I don't want any casualties." Max said then mumbled something incoherent. "Aye, captain!" I cried out into the phone and saluted to an invisible silhouette from my seat on the bed. Iggy gave a small groan against my back and I instantly chuckled as I knew that that would be very…arousing. To him, at least.

"Just be careful. Put Iggy on the phone." Max ordered. "Alright," I said reluctantly and handed the phone to Iggy. He raised his eyebrows and pointed a finger to his bare chest. I nodded to tell him this; yes, _you_! I flopped onto my stomach on the bed, not paying attention to Iggy's phone call. It wasn't like she and Iggy had an affair or something. Iggy and Fang would still be fighting to the death by now if that had happened. Instead I placed my hand against Iggy's chest and traced my hand with the other index finger. Iggy shuddered against the feather-light touch and lifted up my hand, intertwining it with his. "Right, Max; we will definitely be there by morning." Iggy said. I smiled at this. That meant we had tonight and only tonight. That meant we would be TIRED in the morning.

I leaned my head down and pecked a kiss at Iggy's chest before turning my ear to his heartbeat. I tapped my middle finger to the beat on Iggy's stomach. He bit his lip slightly and I knew he was restraining from lunging at me just as much as I restraining to do the same. "Look, the, um, target is getting away. We need to go now." Iggy stuttered into the phone. I couldn't help but let out a girlish giggle at this and reached my head up, gently nibbling against Iggy's neck. His eyes rolled upwards and he flushed paler (if that was even possible). He obviously didn't want to start while Max was on the phone. "Look, I have to go, _now._" Iggy said seriously into the phone and slammed the phone down on the receiver before Max could get a word in.

And with that, he lunged at me. Oh, screw you; I lunged right back.

=e=E=e=

I was tired and sore. I mean, I have an immortal body but…oh, my freaking GOD! I had to clear my mind too so Angel would neither know about the marriage or the consummating of the marriage; then the other consummating and then the other and then the other and ON and ON AND ON!

I shook that out of my thoughts as I dragged myself into the lobby in last night's clothes. Iggy was right beside me with his blazer off and his shirt rumpled. I groaned slightly as we dragged ourselves into the elevator. "Third floor," Iggy yawned to me. I nodded and pressed the 3 button. "Take off your ring but at least keep it on you," I said to him. He smirked and gave a soft chuckle. Right when I was about to ask him he responded with a "yes, dear". I laughed along as we dragged ourselves out of the elevator to the hotel room.

"What'd you find?" Max asked the second that we were inside the room. I turned to glare at her. "A dud; I thought it might be a White coat but he was just a role player." I groaned. I dragged myself over to the couch and dropped onto my belly. Angel was by my side in an instant. _Quiet, Angel! Iggy and I just needed to be…alone. You don't want to know this stuff. _I ordered in my mind. Angel gasped. "That was a really awful guy!" Angel cried out to Max, trying to hold back her smile. _Fine but when you have children, I get to name one. _Angel thought to me. I frowned and groaned. _Tell Iggy the same. _I told her. She gave a small nod. Iggy burst out laughing at this. Then he dropped. He just dropped. For a second I was concerned he was dead but then I heard him slightly snoring and saw his wings ruffle a bit underneath his shirt. "That guy must've been a really busy worker." Max snickered.

"Oh, yeah; he had us all over town." I cackled to myself as I turned onto my back and looked up at the ceiling. I was SORE. I smirked to myself as I shifted on the couch. Angel hummed happily to herself and skipped to the room. "BED!" I cried out. Iggy instantly woke up at this mention. "Ah, I don't want you two in the same bed!" Dr. M cried out. I paused and checked our fingers. No, my ring was in my pocket. Iggy's was in his. Either that or he had a leftover condom and didn't think very highly of himself. "Why not?" I whined. Because she really had no reason.

"I heard about what happened last night." Dr. M said and gave us a stern look. Iggy and I both gawked at each other. "Max told us that you two kissed." Angel clarified. I sighed in slight relief. "I don't think it'd be very appropriate if you two slept in the same bed." Dr. M said with a pointed look. "If I get my way, you two will be virgins when you're sixty." She stated with a smug smirk.

I had to hold back my laughter and Iggy raised an eyebrow. "Sixty year olds aren't very good in bed; they'd keep forgetting just what happened." Iggy joked. I laughed at that. "'Oh, dear, did you already do that thing we used to do way back when?'" I said in a mimicked old lady voice. Actually it sounded more like the priest who married us. "Fine, Angel can chaperone." I cackled. Angel smiled but then frowned. I rushed to her and picked her up before she could protest. "C'mon, Angel," I said and carried her over to the bed. Iggy chuckled and shrugged. I laughed aloud at the panicked look on her face. "What are you thinking is gonna happen, Igs?" I laughed to him. He was very perverted.

Iggy rolled his eyes and flopped onto the bed, yawning. "Relax, we're only gonna sleep." I assured Angel and went to close the sliding door that disconnected the bedroom from the other rooms. Angel sighed in relief and yawned. "Go to sleep, Angel," I said to her and went to crawl under the sheets. Iggy instantly grabbed me and pulled me close. Now, last night was hot. But right now; this was romantic.

**Iggy's POV: Lawfully Wedded Wife:**

Rachael Elizabeth Kindy was my wife. The most beautiful girl was lawfully bound to me. And I learned something else; she is GREAT! I mean, man, I am still sore from last night. I really love that. My wife is the best in bed. And the superhuman strength? Just a plus, baby! Angel was on the opposite end of the bed, next to Ellie. I had my arms wrapped around Ellie's waist and was currently trying to sleep. I wanted to get some sleep but I was still hyped into Cloud 9. I could do nothing but pull out the golden banner that I had in my pocket. Sure, they were under fake names and wouldn't hold up in court but once I learned my real and all of this was over, I will marry her again. But she was still my wife in one alias at least. It was legal as far as I was concerned.

I fumbled with the golden ring in my hand. "Put it on or put it away," Ellie mumbled and turned into my chest before looking up into my eyes. She blinked tiredly and let out a small yawn that I swear made her look like a sleepy cat. I smiled and slid the finger onto my ring finger on my left hand. Ellie grinned and reached down, pulling out her own ring. I watched carefully as she put on the ring as well. Angel grumbled something about pink bunnies then rolled over, facing away from us. "She dibbed a kid's name," Ellie reminded me with a shrug. I snorted to myself and nodded. "When all of this is over, maybe she'll get that." I muttered and leaned my head down, nibbling slightly on her neck. Ellie snorted and rolled her eyes. "Always thinking so highly of yourself, huh?" She chuckled. I rolled my eyes and lifted my head away.

Ellie snickered to herself and pressed herself closer to my chest. If it weren't for that damn corset I'd be able to feel her but nope, she was still in last night's clothes. She gave another small yawn and leaned her head against my collarbone. I tucked her head beneath my chin and closed my eyes. "Are you still gonna leave?" I asked her. Ellie shrugged against me. "Probably not; I'll have to go for occasional visits but I guess I'll just stay with you guys." She said. At that I grinned. Ellie had me doing that a lot; grinning. "If you guys let me, that is." She sighed. And that just made me frown. Of course I wanted her to stay but then there was Max. Max wouldn't like it but then again things were different now. "We'll tell her after we save the world." I told her. Ellie seemed to like that. "Okay," She yawned in a type of meow-like voice. "So for now the only one who knows about us is Angel." I reminded her and my eyes opened to look at Angel who was still sleeping.

"She won't tell as long as she gets to name the first kid." Ellie laughed. I smiled and looked down at Ellie, kissing her forehead. I just wanted to be closer to her. "You should go get changed into something else." I yawned. Ellie nodded and started to get up. The bed shifted and Angel blinked awake with a yawn. "What's going on?" She asked. "Ellie's just going to get into some pajamas." I told her. "I should probably, too." I said and stood up. Angel just shrugged and went back to sleep. The kid was a sleep-hog. I went out into the other room and headed to my backpack. Nudge was yawning, obviously having just woken up. I regretted leaving so early. We could've gotten a few hours in. But then again, we were tired enough as it is.

"What's up with you?" I asked Nudge. "What?" She asked. "Why didn't Max wake you up?" I asked. She shrugged. Max must've had one of those generous moments when she'll let the kids sleep in a bit longer. "Where is Max, anyways?" I asked. She searched around before pointing at the computer in the corner of the room. Fang and Max were hunched over it with Max in Fang's lap. "What's up?" I asked as I approached with my pajamas in hand. Both looked up. Fang raised an eyebrow and I realized quickly that the ring was still on. I quickly and discreetly took it off. I think Fang even showed a bit of shock on his face. "FANG! Come have some guy talk!" I cried out and grabbed onto Fang's arm.

Fang came willingly, probably from the shock. By the time that I came into the bedroom, Ellie was already changed into a pair of black pajama pants and a gray tank top. She was obviously confused at why Fang was here. I closed the doors to the bedroom. "Max is gonna kill you." Fang scoffed and reached up, running a hand through his hair. I rolled my eyes at this. "Well, you're not gonna tell her." I told him. Ellie groaned from where she was and sat down. "Jeez, you told him?" She groaned. She crossed her legs and leaned her elbow against the top knee so that she was leaning forward. It did not help my concentration at the moment seeing as her boobs were almost completely shown.

"Let me guess, there was no lead," Fang chuckled. I looked to Ellie who sighed. "Ding, ding, ding to you," She muttered and twirled her finger in the air in a whoop-de-doo type way. "None at all," I muttered. "And you two got married?" Fang said in a low voice. "Well, he could die tomorrow and I could die…well, I don't know. Mel could kill me when she finds out." Ellie said. I almost laughed at that. I was more vulnerable than her and yet I was loving every second of it. Fang raised an eyebrow. "And instead of going after a lead, you two…" Fang trailed off. Ellie grinned happily and nodded. "Over and over," I chuckled. Ellie slapped me on the arm slightly. And now FANG KNOWS THAT ELLIE AND I ARE MARRIED. Isn't that great, folks?

**AN:** See? Aren't you happy now? The two got married to save time. Fang and Angel know but Max, Gasman and Nudge are in the dark. Trust me, Max won't find out for a long time. And when there are secrets, there are covers, and when there are covers, there is humor. So just think of this wonderful story as a comedy. REVIEW. Don't ya just love the ALL CAPS?


	8. Las Vegas PART II

**Ellie POV: He's mine now and forever:**

I was slightly cold. I groaned in the bed and flipped over. But one feel told me this; Iggy was gone. I blinked my eyes open. The window was open too. I grumbled as I got up and headed to close the window. I yawned tiredly on my way out of the room. Everyone was surrounding the dining table and Iggy was behind the counter. He offered me a secret grin and I smiled back. I yawned again and took my seat between Nudge and the Gasman. The two would bicker the entire time of what they thought was gross and not if I wasn't the mediator.

Iggy took his usual seat across from me. "Jeb called last night." Dr. M said, indicating last night. Iggy's and my night. That night was perfect even if it was in a dirty motel. "What about?" Max snapped. "Jeb?" I asked. "Jeb was the scientist to help us escape and Max's dad." Iggy explained. I smiled my thanks to him and he just smiled back. There were no words needed. "NOT YOU TOO!" Nudge cried out. I turned to her in surprise. "What?" I asked. "The eye-conversations; is it a couple thing or something?" Nudge questioned in exasperation. Fang snickered to himself while Max seemed a bit annoyed that she and Fang were being compared to Iggy and me. Inside I was doing a smug, happy dance; _I got married before you! I got married before you! Na, Na, Na-Na-Na! _But I kept it calm on the outside. Angel was giggling like a madwoman.

Iggy reached under the table discreetly and reached across, placing his palm against my thigh. I smiled to myself and reached my foot across, intertwining it with his foot. "Anyways," Dr. M said in slight annoyance. I was not getting out on the wrong foot with her. "Jeb called. He's coming here and he'll be meeting us for lunch." She said with a happy smile. I frowned. "Do we have time to run?" Max grumbled before chomping on her piece of toast as if it would save the world. "No, Max, you do not." Dr. M huffed and Max looked down in slight shame. I guess she doesn't enjoy making her mom mad.

I reached down onto the plate that was settled in front of me and grabbed the piece of toast. "Oh, good, he can meet Ellie!" Nudge cried out. I instantly choked on my piece of toast. "She is one of the Flock now, right? Oh, this will be so much fun! Except we never really have anything to talk about with Jeb other than business and the times we had in the E-House. That was the house that we had back in Arizona a long time ago. Well, actually it was only a year ago but still it was a long time ago in our time." Nudge rambled but Fang clapped his hand over her mouth. "I guess you should meet Jeb." Max said in an annoyed voice. OBVIOUSLY STILL DIDN'T LIKE ME was practically scrawled all over her face. "He'll know all of your secrets within the first meeting." Fang chuckled. Iggy and I both turned to glare at him while Angel laughed. If she didn't calm down she was gonna blow our secret. And that thought got Angel a bit calmer but down to a creepy giggle.

Nudge was confused as was Max and Gasman was still eating. "Alright, everyone, get ready to go to lunch," Dr. M said and clapped her hands like we were a bunch of servants. I raised an eyebrow as everyone got up. I did so too. Iggy and I both headed to the bedroom where our stuff was. I headed to my stuff when I heard the door close. But I was instantly plucked up from the ground. I was shocked and for a second I went tense but then I felt Iggy's familiar arms. "Relax, El," He chuckled into my ear. I smiled and turned around so I was facing him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned upwards to kiss him. But him being over six foot and me being 5'3, that wasn't working. So Iggy just picked me up and kissed me. I grinned against his lips and wrapped my legs around his waist to my hold myself up.

"We should be getting changed," I whispered into Iggy's ear as I tinkered with the tag on the back of his shirt. "Absolutely," Iggy chuckled and lifted my shirt over my head before I could say a word. I was wearing a sports bra though. I was really regretting that. "How long do you think it should take for us to get changed and for them to not get suspicious?" I whispered to Iggy as I pulled the hem of his shirt up over his stomach. I lifted it over his head, screwing up the glasses I'd forgotten was on him. "Well, I have no clue. I get changed a long time." Iggy teased. I rolled my eyes and leaned in for another kiss. I wrapped my arms around him again and held him closer to me, careful not to accidentally kill him.

The kiss was soft and sweet. Up until there was a knock at the door. Fang came in, careful to hide us from the sight of the others. One look at us had him smirking and rolling his eyes. "Whatever, just really get changed before Dr. M busts in here and catches you two." Fang ordered. I rolled my eyes at this. "Alright, we will," I sighed and dropped down from Iggy. "This sucks; I can't have freaking sex with my husband." I muttered and reached over onto the nightstand. Both of our rings were there. I grabbed mine and slid it onto my finger. "I have gloves; do you?" I asked. Iggy narrowed his eyes at me and I couldn't help but cackle evilly to myself. "We have to really get changed, remember?" I reminded him as I saw him just about ready to attack me.

I stepped over to my bag and reached in, pulling out a pair of jeans and a black V-neck sweater. I also pulled out a push-up bra and a fresh pair of underpants. I quickly discarded of my pants and underpants and pulled on the new ones. Iggy gave a small moan of protest but I ignored him. "Shut up, Iggy; we need to get going." I reminded him teasingly. He rolled his eyes but got changed nonetheless into a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans that seemed presentable. I pulled on my bra and tried to close it but I couldn't get it. "Will you close my bra?" I asked Iggy awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling. I could hear Iggy's own cackle as he moved over to me and pulled the two clasps before closing it. "Alright, alright; we'll really get changed." Iggy muttered. "And you have to leave from the bathroom. I can't have Dr. M thinking we changed in the same room." I said. Iggy groaned and headed over to the bathroom door. I pulled on my outfit and my high tops.

As I was debating on my hair Max came in. "I could've been changing, ya know." I reminded her with a slight smirk. "No, you couldn't have; you've been in here long enough." Max said and rolled her eyes. "What really happened last night?" Max asked. I instantly froze and glanced down at my finger, discreetly pulling my sleeve down over my hand more so. "A role player was found; we followed him. He went to several motels and called himself 'Dr. Nuts'." I cackled. Max snorted and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I will find out eventually." She threatened and left the room. I pulled my hair up into the same style that Max and Ella had had their hair up last night with the ponytail on top of my head and several locks of hair falling all around my face. I was perfectly alright for now.

I reached over to my bag and pulled out the pair of fingerless gloves that reached up to the finger-joints and would hide my ring easily. I pulled the black gloves on and headed out of the bedroom, pulling the Velcro tighter as I went. I could just barely see the slight bulge in my glove where my ring was. I yawned slightly on my way out and approached the group that was waiting. Everyone seemed in normal clothes. Iggy joined me now and we all began to exit with Nudge chattering endlessly. "Oh, my Gosh; what if he gives us a clue to how to save the world? Ooh, what if he tells us we already saved the world but didn't realize it? Oh, my Gosh, that would be so awesome! Or this could be a decoy and he could actually never have been Jeb but instead was that Monroe guy and Mel and Mel would go up to Ellie and kiss her again—," This time I cut her off. "WHAT? You guys told her?" I cried out to Max and Fang. Max smirked wittingly. "It was a need-to-know thing." Max said and shrugged. I wanted to slap her silly.

Nudge giggled as we all boarded the elevator. Let me tell you, six claustrophobic kids in an elevator of nine was not a good idea. We were constantly brushing up each other and I think that Iggy was having a panic attack. I grabbed onto his hand to assure him and he seemed to calm down just a bit. He smiled his apology to me and I just shrugged. He lived his life in a dog crate; I'd be more concerned if he wasn't claustrophobic. Dr. M, Ella and I let everyone else get out first. I wasn't so claustrophobic because I was always sentenced to a room with spikes on the floor that would eventually splinter my bones and I would have to step on each and every one in order to get to the door.

Angel cringed at this. "Sorry, Angel," I apologized on my way out of the elevator with Ella and Dr. M behind me. Angel rushed to my side opposite of Iggy and grabbed onto my free hand. I blinked at this. What? The creepy little telepath was feeling sorry for me? I mean, sure, she was absolutely adorable and she was kind of sweet but I really didn't want pity. "Sorry," She said and let go of my hand. "Nah, it's alright," I said and grabbed onto her hand again. She smiled up at me.

"So, I was thinking Matilda or Rachael!" Angel squealed. Iggy and I were instantly flushed pale. "We'll talk about that after Max knows." I whispered to her. She nodded eagerly and let go of my hand again, skipping ahead of us. I watched as Dr. M headed ahead of us as well to go greet a man. The man had slightly sandy blond hair and kind of a kind face but there was just something about him I didn't like. It might be the ol' doctor vibe he gave out. He was wearing a blue dress shirt along with a black suit with the blazer buttoned up half-way. Max definitely didn't hide her disgust with him as she sat down. I guess she had a reason; she was a fifteen year old girl who was placed with the responsibility of the world's safety and if she made one wrong move then she would fail and BOOM; apocalypse.

I saw that the table had only eight seats extra. The man blinked at me in slight surprise then saw me holding hands with Iggy. "It seems that I've missed some things." He chuckled. I blinked and nodded. I grabbed a seat from a nearby empty table and fit it between Iggy and Nudge. "I'm Jeb," The man said and held his hand out over the large table. I stood up so I could reach and shook his hand. "Ellie," I said. "Oh!" He cried out in surprise. I blinked. "I've just heard some…rumors about you." He said, choking on the word rumors. "If they were all by Melinda Gunderson, they're all lies." I stated and sat back down. Jeb furrowed his brow.

Iggy was near cracking up as were Max and Fang. "And Iggy!" Jeb gasped. I finally realized; he didn't know Iggy could see. "That is just spectacular!" Jeb cried out in joy. Wow; that was…weird. "What happened?" Jeb asked. I leaned back in my seat, thankful that this wasn't about Mel's rumors. "I just woke up one night and I could see." Iggy said and shrugged. "Not very well, but as much as I used to be able to." He said and adjusted his glasses slightly. Jeb nodded absently. "Was this before or after Ellie joined your Flock?" Jeb asked. Max let out a small growl and I cackled to myself quietly. "After," Iggy answered, trying to hide his joy from the chick-fight that was bound to happen right before his very eyes.

Jeb nodded again. "Is there anything else that I should know?" Jeb requested the table. Fang was so close to dying. He started to raise his hand but thankfully Iggy got over enough to kick him. "Nope, nothing," Fang chuckled. Iggy and I both glared at him. Jeb noticed the exchange with a furrowed brow. "Jeb, why are you here?" Max intervened. "Because I am here to tell you something that you will be very happy to hear." Jeb said. I frowned at this. Happy came with strings. "Itex is destroyed." Jeb stated. I frowned even more at this. "What's the catch?" Max asked before I got a chance to. "There are some experiments that were treated very well." Jeb started. "Well, they believe that since Itex is destroyed, their 'heaven' is destroyed." He stated. I frowned at this. What the hell was he babbling on about? "They want revenge." He said. I could feel some of my frown lifting up. This was the catch. It was better than everyone dying; we could take a few experiments down.

"Who?" Max asked. I hadn't thought of that. "You might know him," Jeb choked out. "Omega, Melinda Gunderson, and others that might seem unfamiliar," Jeb said. I frowned. "Omega? I thought I killed him." Max said. I looked to her. Well…Mel was an obvious answer. "Then there's an ally that would enjoy helping you. He's been working against Monroe Gunderson for years now and wants to help out as much as possible." Jeb announced. I think I had an idea of who it was already. "Andrew Gunderson." Jeb said and stood up. I felt my frown steepen even more. I wasn't wearing my contacts and was easily recognizable. Andrew was from Halo; he could easily recognize me. But then again, he's kept in contact with Monroe; he could've known that I was being stalked.

Suddenly a brown haired boy approached the table. "Why should we accept help from him?" Max asked. I blinked. "Because he's rich," I muttered. Everyone's eyes turned to me. I grinned and looked up. "No, no, no, not like that! I mean, sure like that but he could get us the supplies to help kick those guys' sorry butts." I said with a grin. Andrew looked at me and furrowed his brow then relaxed slightly. "I never thought you were dead." Andrew said. I frowned at him. "How did dad treat you?" He asked. "He nailed my wrists to a wall, had me walk on metallic spikes, splintering my bones each time, opened gunfire on me and had me slowly digress the bullets out of my system." I said casually and leaned back in my seat even more, smiling to myself.

"How's he been treating ya?" I asked Andrew. "He beat me every time I forgot to do so much as pick up a pair of my socks, ran me over with his car once, sent me to the hospital twice, and experimented on my sister who is obsessed with you." He answered. Iggy narrowed his eyes at Andrew. "Andrew sued his father for abuse years ago but he lost the case." I informed the group. I grabbed Iggy's hand and held onto it on top of the table, showing it freely. "Mel's not gonna like that." Andrew said and pointed at Iggy's and my enclosed hands. "Yeah, well, you're gonna help me kill her." I said. Andrew frowned. "That's a bit disturbing." He said. "Just get me a few metallic boxes and don't watch." I said.

Fang shot Iggy a look that said an obvious _impressive_. Max rolled her eyes from beside Fang. "Okay, so, we have to go up against these experiments and then boom, the world's saved?" Max asked. Jeb nodded his head. "Obviously," Fang said. I rolled my eyes. He was back to his one-word sentences. Iggy and I exchanged an eager glance. Max rolled her eyes again. I sighed and looked past Jeb. I spotted the waiter approaching us and I grinned. "Food," I announced. Everyone turned to smile at the waiter as if we hadn't just been talking about saving the world. The waiter groaned as he saw us. "Please say at least one of you will only get the salad." He said. I frowned at this. Then he was shocked into his living daylights. Crap. We all ordered way too much and I would have to chip in for the meal.

Iggy clutched onto my hand as the waiter walked away, scared. There were eleven of us and seven of us just ordered an amount to feed a small army each. "Well, they'll have even less resources than before so things should be simpler." Jeb announced. "And yet we shouldn't underestimate them." Andrew cut in. I watched everyone else's reactions. Iggy dropped his hand from mine and reached under the table, slipping his hand over my thigh. His thumb began to run smooth circles around the inner thigh and, oh, my God.

"Okay, well," I said and stood up from my seat. Iggy, Fang and Max all looked to me while the adults chatted about battle plans and the kids were rambling on about something or other. "I'll just be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." I said and pushed my chair in. _Angel, tell Iggy to meet me by the bathrooms. _I thought quickly. _Sending! _Angel responded. A few seconds later I heard the slight screech of a chair. _Tell Max that I'm not feeling too well and that Iggy's just coming to check up on me. _I told Angel. I could hear her mental giggle. I know; I shouldn't be having a seven year old lie to her mother-figure about Iggy and me having sex in a bathroom but still! He wasn't going to be able to do that much later.

=e=E=e=

I exited the bathroom stall in the lady's room. Thankfully no one was in here. "We just did that in one hell of a fancy bathroom." Iggy snickered as he came over to the sinks. I washed my hands quickly before fixing my hair back into the position it was in before. "No bad bruises, right?" I asked Iggy. He laughed and shook his head. "Not too bad," He answered and leaned over to kiss me. I kissed him back freely. This was what I loved; we were able to get away with this with a mind-reader/telepath on our side and…well, oh, well. I mean, these were the moments I absolutely adored; the few seconds of sheer bliss that we felt after making love in a public bathroom (not like we ever did it before). "Max thinks I was sick and that you were coming to check up on me." I said.

"Alright, but you weren't really sick; just a bit off because you haven't had that much food." Iggy said. I rolled my eyes to him. "Whatever; let's just back out there." I chuckled. Iggy nodded and we exited the bathroom. Iggy was pretty great at acting like we didn't have spectacular secret sex in a cramped bathroom stall. "I hope no one sees those dents," I whispered to Iggy who laughed freely. "They'll automatically know what it's from." He said as we approached the table carefully. "Are you alright?" Max asked cautiously. I blinked at her. "Oh, yeah; I'm fine. Just didn't have enough food before." I said and patted my belly. Max just seemed suspicious. Fang was glaring at Iggy. _He thinks of you as a sister and doesn't like the idea that you and Iggy are being inappropriate. _Angel assured me. _Plus he's really grateful that you helped us out in Florida. _Angel added.

I nodded. _Thanks, Angel. You've been great. We're gonna tell Max just as soon as we save the world, okay? _I thought to her. She nodded absently from across the table. I absently reached my thumb up on my left hand to tinker with my ring. "Where do we need to go?" Max asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked up at the group. "We're going to have to go to my hometown; Halo, Michigan." Andrew announced. I frowned. Well, looks like I'm going back home.

**AN: **I want to wish you all a happy new school year! It is September 6, 2010 right now and it is the day before I'm going back to school. As much as I want to see my friends, I'm completely bummed that summer is over. I hope you all have a great one! (I'm gonna kick some of my friends' asses).


	9. End of BOOK I

My eyes were a fresh shade of yellowish green and my hair darker now that I've had the chance to color it again. My skin was still pale as the sunset moon and yet it fit the look. I was on the plane, courtesy of Andrew, wearing a black and white striped V-neck, heading down a little too low for my liking. I wore a pair of straight black skinny jeans and my pair of high tops along with my black leather jacket but now I wore a black collar along with my gloves. I wore the gloves to disguise the ring on my left ring finger. Iggy was at my side, trying not to freak out.

I wasn't very happy. I had no clue where my parents were and I didn't know if they were still in town. If they knew that I was alive, they'd be in danger. "Halo will be our battlegrounds. I've issued an evacuation upon the threat of a bombing in the city." Andrew assured us. I turned my eyes up to him. I guess that was the right thing to do. "It's completely a ghost town and I doubt it'll be occupied for the next few months at the very least." Andrew said. "But this also means that the airports won't be open." Andrew said apologetically. I frowned at him. "We'll be ditching the plane." He said with a shrug. "I have Jeb, Dr. Martinez, Ella, Ellie's and my parachutes all set up. The others will fly because it's open grounds. There is no need to be so discreet here." Andrew said. I frowned at him. I was a cheetah; I didn't do air.

Iggy furrowed his brow as he saw my look. _Angel, is Andrew trustworthy? _I asked silently. _I can't tell. His thoughts are vague. They're barely there but they're not lethal. He doesn't mean to hurt us. He just wants us safe. _Angel answered. I frowned at this. I wanted to know if he was safe. "So, you're up against your sister. What's up with that?" I asked and grabbed onto Iggy's hand. "She was always with my dad and she insisted on getting experimented on when she heard that you had the cheetah genes in you. She didn't want any animals but instead your blood." Andrew said and shrugged solemnly. "She was on his side from the very beginning." Andrew said. I sighed and leaned back in my seat smiling at Iggy. "You're very moody lately," Iggy whispered to me. I laughed freely. "It's just going back to town. I don't like the idea of going back." I said.

"We'll each need to carry a box along with our stuff." Andrew said. I nodded and stood up. "We're coming up to the town now so get ready." He said. I gave a stiff nod again and headed to the pile of metal boxes. I grabbed one and then grabbed one of the parachute packs. After I was settled with that I grabbed my duffel bag. I turned to Andrew and the adults. I gave them a quick once-over. "I really hope you guys don't die." I said and grimaced. Iggy smirked and came to my side with his backpack on his back and a metal box in his arms. I smiled up at him and leaned up, pecking him on the lips. With that I reached over to the exit door and flipped the lever. I was instantly ripped out of the plane. I clutched onto the box in my arms for dear life. Then when I felt I was close enough I pulled the bright red cord on the pack, letting loose the large white parachute. I slowed to a slight float, still falling but not anywhere near as fast as I had been.

I glanced around before kicking my legs into the air. I was finally satisfied when I landed in a heap on top of a roof. I wanted an elevator; I was starting to get sick. I let go of the box the second my feet touched the cement of the roof. It fell to the ground with a clatter and then my sight was blacked out by the parachute, only allowing a slight filtered light enter through the material. I shoved away the material, unclipping the harness belt that the pack had come with to allow myself to be free of the heavy weight. I shot to my feet, flipping my hair back so that it wouldn't get in my way. I didn't want to get so uncoordinated that I fell off the roof. I mean, not without that damn box.

I stepped over to the box and picked it up, adjusting my duffel bag on my shoulder. "I knew it!" A squeaky voice suddenly cried out. I groaned. I really didn't want to hear that voice. Not from HER.

**Max's POV: Falling out of the air:**

I kept my wings out a second more as my feet landed on the ground. Then I snapped them back in. Even if we didn't need to be discreet I didn't want to just let myself freely expose myself. I glanced around and Andrew had been right.

What had once been Halo, Michigan was now a ghost-town. Everywhere I looked was abandoned. The street lights were still on, flickering every now and then between the bright red hand to the white light of a stick person. "Where's Ellie?" Iggy asked. I frowned at him. "She probably landed on one of the roofs." I answered, squinting in the bright sunlight that was only being reflected off of the glimmering town. The glass sky-scrapers were all reaching to the sky and yet I could see that none of them were occupied by a single living creature. I think even the wildlife was evacuated. Maybe they sensed danger like they did with a storm.

Iggy cupped his hands around his mouth to prepare to shout but I shushed him. "Don't do that; if they hear us early it'll give them our position." I snapped at him. Iggy frowned at me and sighed. His glasses were slightly tilted on his face but he fixed them after a few seconds. Fang landed next to me after a couple of moments. "She's up on the roof," He said and pointed upwards to one of the taller glass buildings with a cement roof. "Must've gotten sick from the air," Fang snickered and rolled his dark eyes. I smirked. "But she's got a little friend up there. Looks like this thing's about to start early." Fang chuckled and punched his fist into the opposite palm, cracking his knuckles in the process. This made me frown. "Get the boxes together; she'll have to get her down here." I demanded. Everyone nodded and tossed their boxes into a pile. I tossed mine and frowned. "Where are the others?" I asked the Flock. Everyone was here; Angel, Nudge, Iggy, Gasman and Fang. But the others must still be floating. I saw a couple of specks in the distance. "Go check on them, Nudge." I said. Nudge nodded and took to the air in the direction of the others.

"I want you each in pairs." I said to the others. "Iggy and Gasman, Fang with Angel." I said. The Flock nodded without a second's hesitation. It was better safe than sorry. I glanced around again, searching for any indication of Omega. I had to remember his weakness; move quickly, distract him. I had to keep my eyes peeled for my opponent. Then I heard it. I shielded myself with my arms as an entire building shattered. It was the one that had Ellie on it. Iggy would not be happy.

**Ellie's POV: Flailing opponents and Damn lesbians:**

_CRASHHHHHHHHH! _I groaned as I looked up at Mel. She was practically snarling down at me. "Ya got rabies?" I snickered to her and brought my knee up, hitting her in the gut. I scrambled up from the crater that I'd made in the roof. I turned to look at it. My hair splayed out in front of my face. I had that coverage and saw Mel as she began to get up. I turned and grabbed her by the shirt. She growled at me and grabbed me by the shoulders. "YOU MARRIED HIM!" She screeched as she leapt off the roof, with me in front of her. Okay, now this was gonna hurt.

I felt the air whistle by my ears as my hair flung in front of my face. "I was meaning to tell you!" I cried out over the wind. Mel screamed over the wind and began to claw at my face. I finally grabbed hold of her hands. "Don't do that again!" I cried out to her and bared my teeth. She growled again and lunged but by this time we were nearing the ground. Man, I wish I had that parachute now. I heard the loud _BOOOOOOM_ and felt the shattering of my spine. I wanted to scream but I restrained from doing so. I growled at Mel and reached up. She only smirked. I dragged myself up and bent my back backwards in order to make sure my spine didn't heal incorrectly. The shattered notches of my spine all clung together under my bleeding flesh and spontaneously healed. "This is gonna be your downfall, Mel," I growled and got up from my stance in the crater. I ran at Mel, connecting with her stomach. And again, my mind flashed to that day with Mel, the same FIGHT or DIE circumstances. This was different though.

. _"That is IT, bitch!" I shouted at her and took a step back. She smirked, as if triumphantly, probably thinking I was backing down. But no. I took a running leap and ducked down, butting my head into her stomach. She let out an audible "oomph" before hitting the ground._ I punched Mel in the face over and over again, my own body bleeding but I wasn't caring. I didn't care that Mel had just as much of a chance in putting me in those boxes as I did for her. I wanted to kill her. Do you want to know why? Because she stole my apple juice that I'd gotten from Todd Moscow and slammed my head into a wall. I wanted to kill her because of THAT.

I barely registered the deafening crumbling sound and spray of shrapnel from the background. I felt the sharp cutting against my back as the building we'd once been on crumbled from the force of everything. I just punched Mel's face. I punched her hard too. "Just kill her, Ellie!" I heard Max cry out from the background. But her voice was muffled. I finally stood up and reached down. This was the purpose of my superhuman strength. I was practically gasping for breath, I was breathing so hard. I looked up to spot Max bleeding in front of me, just a mere fifty feet away. "Don't look, Max," I gasped. She nodded and turned away. I grabbed onto Mel's neck with both hands and placed my foot on her chest. "Where are the boxes?" I asked Max. "They're there." Max cried out and pointed at a pile of metal. It was just barely recognizable beneath the pile of shrapnel. "Right!" I called back to her.

I looked down at Mel. And then it hit me. _Feel some emotion, Ellie. You're about to take a human life. It'll save the world but it's still someone who used to love you. Just feel something. _I berated myself. And so I did. I felt a small tear drip down from my tear duct. "You are making me take a human life, Mel." I growled at her. She only widened her eyes. I pressed my foot harder onto her chest and yanked with my hands. With the superhuman strength it was simple; just a simple tug. It scared me how easy it was to behead her with my bare hands. I looked to the pile of boxes and dragged her body separately from her body over to the pile of boxes. I grabbed one of the metallic boxes, already feeling the magnetic force trying to combine her body back together. I looked down at her head. Her eyes were wide in horror but…she was dead. If I didn't do something quick, she wouldn't stay that way.

I opened up one of the metal boxes and placed her head in there, keeping a foot on her chest to keep her body from connecting with the head. And so it went on like that. I ripped her apart and placed each part in the boxes. We just barely had enough boxes. Max came up to me as I was placing the final hand in a box. "How was your fight with Omega?" I asked her as I closed up the box. Max shrugged. "It was probably the same." Max said. I raised a single eyebrow. "Maybe not." She chuckled. And from the background, you could just barely hear the small tinkered thuds from the box I'd just closed.

**END OF BOOK 1: BOOK 2 WILL BE HERE LATER:**

I won't be writing the sequel until Book 5 at least. I want to make this story long enough. Please, please, please keep reading! And it won't be as gory so if you're only looking for gore then go away. But if you're looking for romance and a happily ever after then stay tuned. And when you get to the sequel (which I WILL, WILL, WILL write) then it might be an NCIS crossover. So just check on my profile for the sequel when I post it, which I haven't yet. I will keep writing this but I make no promises except that eventually I will make the sequel. Enjoy life at !


	10. Book II: Meeting the 'Rents PART II

**BOOK 2: ELLIE POV: **Announcing to the World:

I stared at the Flock with a frown. We saved the world. Iggy was at my side. Fang and Angel were practically hopping in their seats though Fang would never admit it. I rolled my eyes at the pair.

It's been a week since I had my fight with Mel, Max's with Omega and the others with the other mutants. But I've been too nervous to tell the others about Iggy and me. I mean, the real _us. _Max was sitting in a chair. Her hair was pulled back to hide the small unnoticeable bald spot that she had from her fight with Omega and there was a large cut going from the end of her eyebrow down to her cheekbone. She was wearing a fairly new tank top and a pair of clean jeans. Dr. Martinez was waiting patiently and I guess she was the one that would most disapprove. Everyone else (Nudge, Jeb, Gasman and Andrew) were just huddled around, trying to figure out what our "big news" was. Fang was ready to burst out laughing from the tense air in here.

We were in a nearby town next to Halo while they reconstructed. What Mel and I had left really did look like a small bombing. We had the boxes of Mel mailed out and scattered. One was dumped in the ocean, never to be found. One was in China, buried next to the Great Wall. And I think we left a part of her all around the world next to landmarks. I don't know; it might've been to honor her or something. It was Andrew's idea.

Jeb had decided to stick around for a bit, try to act like a dad to Max. I was gonna go back to Halo once Andrew sent my parents back. My dad would mysteriously be relocated and I'd be waiting for the family just for an occasional visit. I wouldn't stay with them but I would visit from time to time. Iggy and I had already talked about it and we decided that we would keep up our aliases as adults to keep the marriage because we were just that serious.

I ducked behind Iggy, clutching onto him like a human shield. "What are you doing, Ellie?" Iggy asked in a bland voice. "I don't want to feel the wrath of Dr. Martinez," I whimpered to him. This perked up everyone's attention. Dr. Martinez was barely ever mad unless you kidnapped her (heard that story before), tried to kill her or Max or anyone in the Flock, etc. All chattering was over and done with. "So you're gonna sacrifice me?" Iggy cried out. I knew he wanted the wrath of Dr. Martinez just as little as me but, he was the guy! He had to do this! "Will you just come to my side? That way we can tell her together." Iggy said. "You tell her; I'll wait downstairs." I offered brightly. Iggy gave me a stern look. I groaned and looked at the floor. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a gray V-neck that was slightly baggy on me. But being nearly beaten to death by someone of the same strength as you take a lot out of you and I still had some nasty scars that I'd rather not show. "We've decided to keep our aliases as Ellie Monroe and Jeff Ride." I said.

Everyone seemed confused. "So, you're moving out? That's what you're so worried about?" Max scoffed and crossed her arms. I shook my head like a little child. I still had plenty of scars on my face from Mel's beating but they were just barely there and they actually kind of just added to a tough girl look. Iggy said he liked battle scars. "What else is there?" Dr. Martinez demanded. I frowned up at Iggy. "You tell her," I mumbled. Iggy rolled his eyes. "You are such a wuss," He muttered. "I am not!" I whined and stomped my foot. "Fine, you're a freaking four year old." He argued. I rolled my eyes at this and crossed my arms again. "What did you break?" Fang joked. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're going down with us." I growled at him.

"I kept it a secret!" Fang cried out in his defense with his hands held high. "You knew about this? What the hell is going on?" Max cried out. I sighed. "Iggy and I…well, you remember that dud in Vegas?" I asked Max. She nodded slowly, suspiciously. "There was no dud." I muttered. Max's eyes grew wide. "We're allowed to do that." I mumbled. "Says who?" Max asked. "Well, says the priest and our aliases, Ellie Monroe and Jeff Ride." I muttered and hid into Iggy's arm. I lifted up my left hand. "YOU TWO GOT MARRIED?" Max screeched at the top of her lungs. I flinched as did Iggy. "Well, you know, it was a spur of the moment type thing and we were in Vegas with IDs and it just seemed like a good idea at the time." Iggy defended. I frowned at him. "So, you two want to have a marriage?" Dr. Martinez snapped. I frowned at her. "Have you even thought about the effect that will have?" She cried out.

I blinked at her. "We decided that we wanted to do this." I said. Fang and Angel were cracking up, Nudge was gushing and Gasman was just in shock. "What?" Gasman asked. We both turned to look at him, Iggy and I did. "Sorry, Gazzy but we got married. Sorry we didn't tell you." Iggy said and reached up, running a hand through his hair. Gasman seemed depressingly depressed. "Oh, come on, Gasman!" I cried out. I didn't want Gasman of all people to be like that. I mean, Iggy and I would be living together and we would be married but that didn't mean that too much would change. We would just all…I don't know!

"And besides, um, we'll be moving out only to have some little private moments and it won't be too long at all." I said. "It'll only be during the nights and during the days, you can have Iggy back all you like." I rambled on. "Hey!" Iggy cried out in offense. "Well, you will be coming back to build bombs with him and you can possibly even get a job doing that and you two can work together and…oh, my God! Nudge is infectious!" I cried out in panic. Iggy dropped his head to his hands. "Okay, this is getting too funny," Fang gasped out. Even Max had cracked a grin. Andrew was cracking up just as much and Angel was still trying to hold on for air from laughing so hard. Nudge pouted at my 'Nudge is infectious' comment. "Will you two have a real wedding at some point?" Nudge asked. I blinked at her. "Well, technically Iggy doesn't exist and I'm dead so…maybe with our aliases." I muttered.

"And what about children? Will you have those underage as well?" Dr. Martinez snapped. I turned to her and felt my eyes go wide. Was she gonna claw my eyes out? She looked like she would. But then I decided the best way to handle this; put on a front. I made my face blank. "I have no clue. We've already decided that Angel will name our first kid because she kept the secret first because she's a telepath." I said. "Is that why Angel kept on laughing?" Nudge asked. I nodded and shrugged. "I have a very comical mind." I stated. "And have you even thought about where you're going to live?" Dr. M asked us; well, mainly me. "I have a bank account that no one's swiped and I can use that money to buy us an apartment near wherever you guys are." I answered. Dr. M raised an eyebrow. "So, you really wanted to split up the Flock? I didn't." I said to her silent question.

Max was frowning. "We can move to a new town for a new start, mom. Unless you want to stay in the same town." Dr. M said. It was then that Ella entered from the bathroom with a flush of the toilet. "What'd I miss?" She asked. Fang and Angel burst out into hysterics again, this time with Gasman and Nudge. Iggy snorted and sat down in the nearest chair. "Ella, if I told you that Iggy and I were married how would you react?" I asked. Ella frowned. "At the age of freaking fifteen?" She cried out. I sighed in defeat and sat down next to Iggy. "Well, deal with it. Gasman and I can build bombs somewhere and Ellie can do what she wants and everyone can be happy." Iggy announced. I frowned at everyone's reactions. They were all shocked that Iggy had said something. Why? I thought that in this whole relationship, Iggy was definitely the guy even if I did have the say so. I was a wife, he was a husband. We were each other's partner when need be.

"I can contact CSM and they can contact the military if you'd like." Dr. Martinez offered with a sigh. Max sighed and looked up. Then she stood up, taking back her position as leader. "Mom, you can contact the CSM, like you said, we can move near some military base to keep the Flock together and Iggy and Ellie can keep their aliases until whenever they decide to get actual education." Max said. "We'll have Ellie announce this to her parents when she meets up with them and we can figure this all out when we come to it." She said. I smiled at her. "But you two are not off the hook just yet. What exactly do you plan to do? Are you two gonna just go off on your little fantasy trip?" Max accused. I frowned at her.

"I know all I need to know about explosives and that can be my expertise." Iggy said. "I have half my education and was actually kind of top in my class so I know more than the average person." I cut in. "And my brother works in Washington, D.C. with NCIS. We can probably get jobs from him if we want." I said. Max raised both her eyebrows at this. "What?" She asked. "He's been working at NCIS part time because of his credentials in criminology class." I announced. "We'll figure this out later." Max said. I frowned and nodded. "But there's a bigger issue." Andrew announced. "Do you want to stay dead?" He asked me.

=e=E=e=

I kept my eyes closed as I leaned my head against Iggy's chest. We were in the living room alone because everyone else took the bedrooms. Dr. M had said that if we wanted to be alone this was where we'd have to sleep. Iggy had agreed immediately but there was no way I was having sex on a couch. "Are you sure?" Iggy asked for like the fiftieth time that night. "I'm sure, Iggy. Just think about when we get our own place." I yawned to him. He nodded. "I mean, not about sex," He said after he realized what I'd said. "What about then?" I asked, furrowing my brow in confusion. "I mean about you staying dead." He said and rolled his eyes. His glasses weren't on him right now but instead on the table that the lamp was on. All lights were off but there was enough moonlight coming from the windows. "My parents and my brother will be the only ones to know I'm alive. NCIS might know after a while if I trust them enough but that's later." I answered.

Iggy sighed and frowned down at me. "I mean, what about that friend? What was it; Melinda or something?" He asked. "Morgan?" I asked. He nodded. "That's it." He said and tightened his arm around my waist. "I don't know; I don't think that'll be a very good idea." I said. "And if your parents don't approve of us?" He asked. I shook my head. "That won't matter." I said. "I'm technically dead; they can't do anything about it." I said. Things were getting so complicated with legal actions. Our marriage, my death, his never existing; it was all going to get to me after a while. "What if…" Iggy trailed off with a sigh. I frowned at him. "What if they do the same yours did to you?" I asked. Iggy's told me about how his parents wanted to turn him into a sideshow freak. "Then I'll leave and I won't go back." I said. Iggy frowned and kissed my forehead, lingering with his lips there. He wasn't wearing a shirt but instead had left his pale chest open to me under the blanket. I was wearing a black camisole and my black pajama pants while he wore a pair of Superman pajama bottoms that Dr. M had gotten him.

"I don't want you to go through that." Iggy whispered to me and placed his chin on top of my head. "If I know my parents then…they'll accept me and keep me a secret." I said with a shrug. In full truth I had no clue what they were gonna do. Then there was Josh. If he could get us a job then that'd be great. But Josh was a field agent and pretty much almost had no say unless he begged his boss. Josh would also say I was a zombie and shoot me if I walked up to him without any warning. So parents first!

"When did Andrew say that your parents would be in Halo again?" Iggy asked. "They'll be here by next month." I answered. "That's longer than I thought." He said and smirked to me. "We'll have to wait until then to get our apartment because I have to ask Josh and I want to ask him in person." I said. "Why?" Iggy asked. "Because he'll believe that someone's either playing a really sick joke on him or his phone is haunted if I call him." I answered. "And I can't ask him until he's warned or else he might shoot me." I said. "You're immortal." Iggy said. "That might tempt him to shoot himself." I answered. Iggy laughed slightly, his laughter vibrating through his chest. I closed my eyes against the feel.

"Get some sleep, Igs," I said and pulled myself closer to him, keeping my arms wrapped around his waist. Iggy nodded and kissed the top of my head. I fell asleep quickly.

**Next DAY:**

"Your dad will be informed of the transfer this evening by his boss. It is required of him so he'll have to go or be forced back." Andrew assured me. "Don't kidnap my dad." I said and rolled my eyes. "We have to get him to confront you so that he'll know you're alive and well." Andrew reminded me. "I know that but I don't want you to KIDNAP my DAD." I said. We were in the kitchen, eating lunch while the others were out, being happy. "I don't want to either so if he'll go willingly then we'll make sure not to kidnap him." Andrew said. I nodded. "Just don't do anything illegal," I said. "Harboring a corpse isn't illegal but it is creepy." Andrew chuckled. I rolled my eyes. "You're not harboring me and I do have a beating heart." I said and tapped the spot on my chest where my heart was.

"Anyways after a week or two you can go wait in the prepaid house and they won't suspect a thing. They'll be escorted by informed—," Andrew went on but I cut him off. "I said don't kidnap him!" I cried out. Andrew rolled his eyes. "They'll be escorted of their own free will." Andrew said. "My dad's part of the NRA; if he suspects a thing then he'll shoot your people on site." I said with a smug chuckled and picked up my glass of orange juice, lifting it to my lips. "How long do you want to spend there?" he asked. I swallowed my drink and set it down on its coaster again. "I want to spend a week or so there under the alias of a friend but I want them to know that I'm me." I said. Andrew nodded and pressed the information into his little PDA thingy. I think it was an i-Phone. I don't know; I've never seen one up close.

"If they leave early then we'll be alerted and we'll send you immediately." Andrew assured me and I nodded again. "The CSM are contacted and held in legal gags. If they breathe a word of your existence then they'll be sued so fast..." Andrew stopped when I held up a hand. "Take down those legal gags. I don't want to freaking scare them into that! Just tell them to not tell a word; I don't want to put anyone out of their money." I said. Andrew sighed and made a note in his i-Phone. "Okay; transportation. Do you want to go on train, plane, private car, or what?" Andrew asked. I raised an eyebrow at him. "I can go in a car. That might just be cheapest." I said. "And if Iggy will go with me then that's what I want." I added. Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Having your parents meet the husband on the same day that you tell them you're alive?" Andrew chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"I won't introduce him as my husband at first. I'll ease them into that." I said and slid my hand across the air for emphasis. Andrew rolled his eyes and went back to making notes. "Okay but should we have the house guarded in case they try to get out…" He stopped again when he realized his own words. "Your father had a great influence on you." I joked in an Obi-wan Kenobi voice and with a bow. I stood up from my seat. "I'm gonna go and see where the Flock is so that Nudge, Angel and I can go shopping." I said. Andrew grimaced at the very thought of shopping and I snorted in response. "You are such a guy." I scoffed on my way out. "Do you remember where they said they were going?" I asked him from the doorway. "I think they said they wanted to fly around." Andrew said with a shrug. I nodded and exited, heading to the roof.

I patted my back pocket where my wallet was. Unlike most days I was dressed up in a blue plaid tank top and a black vest along with a pair of destructed gray jeans and my pair of high heeled boots with the leggings underneath. My hair was done up in slight curls with two locks pulled to the back with the same black barrette that I'd worn on my wedding night. I wore my ELLIE necklace around my neck and had several multicolored metal bangles on my wrists that jangled whenever I moved. I had my contacts in because we were so close to Halo and some of the people had evacuated here. People were automatically going back to Halo though instead of waiting around.

I made my way up the stairs to the roof where the Flock would be, no doubt. I had my credit card in my wallet along with my ID, just in case and had my wedding ring on my finger. I wore it as much as possible now that everyone knew and Iggy did too. We were both still in that happy couple stage. I opened up the door to the roof and shielded my eyes, looking up to the sky to see the six figures in the sky. I waved an arm in the air to call them down. Nudge, Iggy and Angel all came down along with Max at their tail. Gasman and Fang stayed in the air, obviously enjoying the air.

"I want them back before nine and I don't want anything that they will never wear. Mom will drive you to the mall but from there she's agreed to leave you guys." Max said the instant her feet touched the ground. I raised my hand to my brow in a salute. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am," I called jokingly. Max rolled her eyes. "Are ya sure you don't want to come with us, Max?" I asked and lowered my hand as Iggy came over to my side. "Not really," Max said as her eyes darted to my left hand. I rolled my eyes. Max was still a bit stubborn and was angry that Iggy and I'd gotten married before her and Fang. "I'm sure," She said. "Anyways, no clothes that you'll never wear, nothing ridiculous and not too much junk food," Max warned Angel and Nudge.

Iggy grinned down at me and I smiled. I was close enough to his height in the high heels but I was still shorter than him. I reached my hand up and grabbed the back of his neck at the same time that he grabbed me by the waist and we kissed. My acrylic nails were back and painted black again so I dug them slightly into his skin but not enough to actually break the skin. "Okay, okay, you two; get going," Max said at the same time that Fang wolf-whistled down at us. I rolled my eyes and pulled back reluctantly. Iggy's glasses were jostled for a second but he fixed them quickly. "I'll see ya later, Igs," I said to him and pulled back.

Iggy nodded reluctantly and let go of my waist. I pecked Iggy on the lips once more before pulling back again. "We'll be back soon enough, Max." I said and headed in the direction of the door. I waved up at the guys who seemed to pause midair and wave back before going back to chasing each other in circles. Nudge and Angel followed me down the stairs.

=e=E=e=

I dropped my bags near the couch where my duffel bag was at the foot of. Iggy, Gasman and Fang were each on the couch, watching an episode of _How I Met Your Mother_ and laughing every time they did something hilarious. I unclipped the barrette from the back of my head and let my hair fall down in the fresh ringlets framing my face. I plopped down onto Iggy's lap where I wrapped an arm around the back of his neck. He grinned at me and leaned in for a kiss.

"Let me just get these dang shoes off." I said. I was trying to refrain from swearing around Gasman and Nudge. Angel was just pointless; she could read my mind! I reached down and unzipped the shoes before tossing them down beside my duffel bag. "Why do you even wear those torture-devices?" Gasman asked with his nose wrinkled. "I don't usually wear them unless it's a special occasion." I said with my chin held high. "Today was a special occasion?" Fang asked absently as he flipped through the channel. "Yeah, we went to get the outfit I'll wear when I see my parents." I said with a shrug. "By the way, Andrew wants to talk to you about that." Fang said. I frowned. "Not again; we went through it almost twenty times at lunch." I groaned and leaned my head against Iggy's shoulder. He reached his arm around my waist and began to rub my back. I closed my eyes to relish the feeling.

"Go find him so you can talk about it." Fang said. I opened my eyes to glare at him. "You just want me off this couch." I protested. "Yep," He said simply and flipped through the channels again. I stuck my tongue out at him but got up nonetheless. Iggy whined in protest as I got up. I leaned down and kissed him before I had to leave. "C'mon, Ellie; we need to talk about this." Andrew's voice cut through this. I groaned but stood up nonetheless and went over to him. Iggy groaned as I left.

**Next DAY:**

I groaned as the sunlight hit my face. I didn't want to get up. I turned over only to meet my face with a pillow. "What the hell?" I mumbled, my voice muffled through the pillow before I retracted my face. I searched around groggily and sat up. Iggy was back over behind the counter, cooking again. I groaned and let myself fall back. "Nope! Ya got to get up to get ready. We're leaving today." Iggy said. I frowned and peered over the couch. "What?" I asked. "Your parents left early this morning. They won't make it for another couple of hours but we still have to get going. Andrew just decided to let you have your sleep." Iggy said and shrugged. I noticed that Iggy was all spanked up too.

Iggy was wearing a white oxford shirt open to reveal a gray tank top and a pair of black cargo pants. The shirt's sleeves were rolled up to deflect the heat that seemed to be bursting at multiple levels. I groaned and shook my head. "Get up," Iggy ordered and left his food on the plate he'd set up. He stepped over to the couch where I was laying and leaned over the edge, crossing his arms to lean on it. I groaned and kicked off the blanket first before turning over onto my stomach. "C'mon; you were so hyped up to go yesterday." Iggy said. I inwardly rolled my eyes but still tried to get back to sleep. Too…early…

Iggy sighed and the next thing I knew I was up, up and away. Over Iggy's shoulder, that is. I groaned again and slapped Iggy's shoulder. "Put me back down." I muttered sleepily with a yawn. The yawn screwed over the order.

"You can sleep in the car." Iggy said. I nodded groggily as he settled me on the bed. "Where is everyone?" I yawned when I decided to wake up. "They all decided to go get some lunch." Iggy said. I frowned at this. "Lunch?" I mumbled. "No time; you can eat it on the way out." Iggy said. I nodded absently. I dragged myself into the new outfit I'd set up. I wanted to make an impression; a whole new me. So when I got the outfit, I had Nudge's advice in what would make me look as badass as I was. I dragged on the black skinny jeans with the small zippers at the knees and pockets and the hems. I forced my tight sweat-soaked black camisole over my head to show my bare chest. Iggy groaned as he saw me. "Shut up," I muttered as I headed over to my duffel bag in the corner (when did that get there?) and pulled out the black bag from inside.

"Did you pack my bags?" I asked. "Nah, Nudge did. She said that I couldn't handle the soft material or something." Iggy chuckled. I nodded as I pulled out the black and gray striped push-up bra and twisted my arm around to clasp the bra. "Iggy," I whined and Iggy laughed before getting behind me to buckle the damn clasp. "Alright, alright; just get finished so that we can head out." Iggy said. I nodded and pulled on the black and gray matching camisole. From there on I pulled on my black leather jacket and the same black boots that I'd worn yesterday along with the same leggings.

I yawned as I pulled my hair back into a messy ponytail; I was too lazy to do anything with it. I grabbed my duffel bag and zipped it back up on my way out. Iggy walked over to the couch to his now overly full backpack and led me out the door. I whined as Iggy dragged me to the elevator. "Ah, c'mon; think about the look on your parents' face when they see you." Iggy said. I nodded and yawned again. "I'm excited, Igs, I really am; I'm just too tired to be too excited." I said. Iggy rolled his eyes as I followed him. "Put in your contacts," Iggy said when we reached outside. "We'll call in later to Dr. M so that the others know we made it on time." Iggy said. I nodded again as I followed him into a car. It was a black Rolls Royce. "Wow, Andrew," I said as I climbed into the back. "It's as discreet as I could make it." Andrew apologized from across from me. I smiled at him and shrugged. Iggy settled down beside me and plopped his backpack beside my duffel bag on the spacey floor. I reached down and pulled out the contacts case from the side-pocket.

I tilted my head back to place the contacts in. "It's only for outside of the house," I explained to the two. "I don't want anyone from Halo recognizing me if I'm dead." I said with a shrug. "I doubt that new hair and a pair of contacts will keep them from recognizing you." Iggy said. I frowned at him. "Then give me my glasses back." I said. Iggy smirked and picked up his backpack. The next second I was placing on my glasses. "I can barely recognize you." Andrew said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. "Shut up," I muttered as I leaned back. "And thanks, Andrew for doing all this." I said. Iggy leaned back next to me. "Sure thing, El; it's only payback for my dad." Andrew said and shrugged. I nodded my understanding. Iggy narrowed his eyes at Andrew and wrapped a protective arm around my waist. I laughed at the protective stance. And that was how we spent our ride. Until I fell asleep.

=e=E=e=

I groaned as I was shook awake. "What?" I groaned. "We're here; hurry before they can get the chance to get here." Iggy's voice said in my ear. I was instantly awake. I grabbed my duffel bag and shot out the door. Too bad it was closed. Iggy and Andrew both burst out laughing as I lay on the spacey floor. "Shut up," I growled at them as I kicked at the latch until the door sprung open. But it was opened by the driver. "Thank you," I said and stood up, dashing outside. I fixed my glasses from their crooked stance and headed inside the house.

The house was different from our other house, a bit more spacious but still homey. There were cardboard boxes dashed everywhere with markings in my mom's handwriting; I'd know it anywhere. It was kind of slanted and looked like it belonged on a computer. Andrew and Iggy were behind me a few moments after. I glanced around. But then I was confused. "What do I do now?" I asked. "You wait," Andrew said. I frowned at him. "Jeff and Christina should be here any moment." Andrew said with a shrug.

My dad worked with as a police officer so it was pretty alright to get transferred. My mom went to whatever job she could get. I sighed and looked around the house. There was an archway leading to a dining room and an archway leading to the living room. Here was the space where there was a large ivory staircase with a black iron staircase. "You can take your contacts out and the glasses too. Try to make yourself as recognizable so they can recognize you." Andrew said. I nodded and plucked the contacts from my eyes. Iggy offered the case and I plopped them in the liquid eye drops that they usually soak in.

I placed the glasses in the side pocket along with the contacts. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and took off my jacket because it was HOT in here. I tucked my jacket in my duffel bag. I dropped onto one of the boxes. I hoped it wasn't fragile. Iggy took a seat on the staircase beside me and Andrew leaned up against a tall stack of boxes. "Well…this is awkward." Iggy chuckled. I rolled my eyes. "What are you gonna say if they don't believe it's you?" Andrew asked. "I'll just glare at them until they believe me," I said simply. Andrew and Iggy laughed uncomfortably, knowing that I wasn't joking. I sighed and looked down at the ground. "And what if they ask you to stay?" Iggy choked out. I blinked up at him. "That's a definite no. Even if I am underage, I'm still dead. I won't be living here and I won't be known to others as their daughter. I'll just be a family friend." I said. "Iggy and I will be living in D.C. if Josh gets us a job at NCIS." I said and shrugged.

"NCIS has some pretty good reps. I mean, I've heard about the troop of field agents." Andrew said with a shrug. I nodded. "Josh is a field agent. He's been working part-time so he isn't working as much as others." I said. "And if they want to know about you?" Andrew asked. This one was the one that Iggy answered. "Nudge is great with computers and so is Fang. They practically battled it out to make her fake reputation." Iggy answered. Andrew nodded. "My parents will be fine with it as long as Josh is around to watch over me." I said with a shrug. "And what about if NCIS finds out the truth about you?" Andrew asked. "Then I'll have to tell them the truth." I said and shrugged again. "There's no getting around it if they do." I said. "And my brother's boss is a good guy or so I've heard; Gibbs, I think his name is." I said.

Andrew nodded absently. Suddenly we heard the phone ring. Andrew dug in his pocket and pulled out his black i-Phone (I'm positive now) and lifted it to his ear. "Yes?" He said into the phone. "Thank you." He said a moment later and hung up. "They're coming up the driveway now. They'll be in here in a few seconds." Andrew said. Iggy stood up from his spot on the stairs and stepped over to me. He grabbed my hand seconds before I heard the creak of the door.

"I don't understand why they sent us here. They know what happened here." I heard my mom's voice say. I blinked into a sort of trance. _I've gone too long without that voice. _I thought to myself. I was about ready to cry from just the sound of her voice. I heard the echo of footsteps on the floor. Andrew headed in the direction of the footsteps, rounding the maze of boxes. "Hi there, my name is Andrew Gunderson." I heard Andrew say. But the boxes were in my way. I couldn't see them. They weren't going to believe him. My parents were going to—"Rachael?" I heard my dad's voice cry out in complete and utter shock and horror. I looked up and just gaped at my dad. He'd lost weight but he was still recognizable. He had a salt and pepper beard and a pair of glasses much like my fake ones. Dad had on his black police uniform and had his head shaved. His blue eyes blinked at me.

"Dad," I breathed and stood up straight, just smiling. My mom had joined my dad by now. She was covering her mouth in shock and what might be horror. She'd lost weight too. My mom was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans along with her famous tan sandals. Her hair was half blond half gray and her face was worn out. But her own blue eyes blinked at me in shock. I clutched onto Iggy's hand even more. I bit my lip in anticipation. They wouldn't believe it. They would kick me out.

But instead both my mom and my dad ran at me, ripping me into a huge hug. I had to struggle to breathe beneath both of them. "Are you all set, Ellie?" Andrew asked. "Yeah, thanks, Andrew." I said to him. He grinned and nodded. "Only payback for what my dad did, remember?" He said. I nodded again. "Still, thanks," I laughed. He nodded.

"Wait, how is this possible?" Dad asked. I frowned at him and Andrew did the same. "Ellie, um, Rachael will explain that to you." Andrew said and gave a respectable nod before heading out. "Wasn't that Monroe Gunderson's son?" Dad asked. I frowned at him. "Uh, yeah, that's him." I laughed nervously. "But he doesn't particularly like that." I said and shrugged. Dad turned back to me. "How is this…?" He trailed off with a really large question mark just out in the open. I rolled my eyes at him. "I'll explain that after a few moments, dad," I laughed and shook my head. Dad and mom's eyes darted to Iggy who was just whistling awkwardly. His backpack was down at his feet. I snorted at this. "Dad, mom, this is Iggy," I said and rolled my eyes as Iggy turned. He gave a salute to my dad and mom who just stared on in confusion.

"It's a really long story." I said. "Rachael, we thought you were dead. What happened? We found your body outside!" Mom cried out. Iggy raised his hand and I furrowed my brow at him. "It's possible that that could've been a clone." Iggy said with a shrug. I snorted. "Like Max II?" I asked. He nodded. "They didn't have a chance to get my DNA so how would that even be possible?" I asked. He shrugged. "Just explain what happened!" Mom cried out in annoyance. I frowned at her. "I went through that window but I was never shot. Not then, at least." I said, remembering back to my time in that cell. I shuddered at the thought and Iggy inched closer. I glanced down at my ring on my left hand. I must've slept in it. But I wanted to ease mom and dad into it.

"Anyways, that wasn't a robbery. That was a kidnapping for me." I said with a shrug. "You remember Itex?" I asked my parents. They both nodded. "They harbored illegal experimentations and mixed humans with animals." I said. Mom just gawked as dad was confused. "Why wasn't this ever reported?" Dad asked. "Because no one knew about it. None of the experiments escaped until there was…" I said and looked to Iggy. He just nodded. "The Flock; the Flock is a group of avian hybrid experiments. They escaped about six years ago and have been on the run up until about a week ago." I said. "And everyone else was scared out of their mind!" I cried out in exasperation. Iggy inched stepped over to my side. "Iggy is part of the Flock," I sighed. Mom frowned at this and dad rolled his eyes. Iggy laughed at their reactions. "Go ahead, Igs," I said. Iggy nodded and shrugged off his oxford shirt.

"What are…?" Dad trailed off as Iggy shrugged out his wings. I laughed as he knocked over a box or two with his wings. "Oops," He muttered with a slight chuckle before whipping his wings out the rest of the way. This time they didn't knock anything over. I smiled as I stared at all fifteen feet of the beautiful golden wings. "Some of the experiments are allowed extra limbs like Iggy and the Flock but some of us are allowed full transformations." I said as Iggy began to fold his wings back in, cringing with the cramped feeling he no doubt felt. "Sorry, Igs," I said and he just dismissed it with a wave. "I met Iggy when I escaped after a few days." I said. "What animal are you?" Dad asked. I frowned at him. "You have to keep all of this a secret or else people will always want to capture and sell us." I said to dad. He instantly nodded slowly deep in thought. "We won't breathe a word of this to anyone." Mom said and nudged my dad. It was just something they did. I would be suspicious if I didn't know that dad was wondering what animal I was instead of thinking of the money he could earn. Dad never had a price.

"I was infused with cheetah genes. I can commit to a full transformation." I explained. Mom and dad both blinked. "Cheetah," Dad repeated. I nodded. "Yeah but it's a full transformation so I'd have to change into a cheetah." I said. Mom narrowed her eyes. "Change," She demanded. "We can't believe you until we have absolute proof." Mom said. I frowned at her. "Well, I would have to change out of my clothes because I really don't want to have to buy this outfit all over again." I said. Mom raised an eyebrow at me. "Fine, I'll see you." She said with her chin held high. "Fine," I said and led her to behind a row of boxes that would cover us.

I quickly shed off my clothes and heard my mom's gasp. She'd seen the new scars. "What exactly happened?" She asked. I frowned at her. "It's a bit gruesome," I answered, feeling myself blush as I shed off the final of my clothes. Finally I let myself fall to all fours and waited for myself to shift into cheetah form. Soon enough I heard my mom's scream. I frowned in my cheetah form and sat down on my hind legs to show I was harmless. Iggy and my dad rounded around the wall of boxes and Iggy grinned.

"Been too long since I saw that," Iggy chuckled. I rolled my eyes at that. I really wanted to tell him to shut up. "She's harmless; she's still Ellie but she's just…well, she's a bit wild." Iggy joked. I wanted to stick my tongue out at him but that'd just be too funny for him. Iggy frowned at me. "Well…um…" Iggy muttered. Dad and mom both looked at him. "She was experimented on and this is the outcome. You see, Ellie has special blood." Iggy explained. I looked at him and nodded my head to the opposite end of the boxes. "She wants to turn back into a human." Iggy explained and headed around the edge of the box wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets until he wasn't seen. I looked down at my clothes, spotting my ring on top of my clothes.

I quickly changed back and got dressed before heading over around the box wall. I was pulling my hair out of my collar when I approached my parents. "So, you aren't human anymore?" Mom asked. "No, I'm still human; just only ninety five percent of the time." I said with a shrug. Mom blinked at me. "What…?" Mom asked. "I met Iggy once before when they thought that I was bleeding and the again after I was captured a second time." I said. "Thought you were bleeding?" Mom asked. "Yeah, that's what Iggy was saying. My blood is special. It means I was a hybrid even before I was experimented on." I said. Mom furrowed her brow. "We're here so that you know I'm alive," I laughed awkwardly. Mom and dad only looked at me like I was crazy. Hell, maybe I was.

"My blood allows me to be invincible; no other living person can hurt me." I said and shrugged. Mom frowned. "I'm not dangerous. I just…can't be killed." I muttered. "What are you going to do now if we're not supposed to tell anyone about you being alive?" Mom asked. I frowned at her. "I want you to call Josh and tell him that I'm alive. I need to ask if he could possibly get me a job under an alias." I said. "Me and Iggy," I said with a shrug. Mom instantly nodded and reached in her pocket, pulling out a beat-up red Motorola Razor. She pressed a single button before lifting it to her ear. I glanced worriedly at Iggy. If mom was afraid of me, she could be calling the cops right now. But I instantly heard a familiar "hello?" and I sighed in relief. It was Josh. "Joshua! Oh, my Gosh! You won't believe this until you see it!" Mom gasped into the phone. I looked up at Iggy with relief. My ring was back on my finger and I was twisting it anxiously around my finger.

I listened to my mom as she rambled on and on but I didn't stop her. Both Iggy and I were getting nervous. We were taking so many risks and telling my parents was one of them. But I was glad to be around my parents. "So, you'll be going to D.C. to work?" Dad asked, a bit of disappointment in his voice. I smiled at him. "I'll be living under the alias of Elizabeth Monroe. It'll be family friend which is why Josh will be getting me a job. I'll be visiting, I hope, every month or something." I said hopefully. I bit my lip in anticipation and my dad sighed in relief. "Yes, that'd be perfect at the very least. If I can see my daughter at least once a month then it's better than thinking she's dead!" Dad cried out. I smiled at him with relief and I saw Iggy shift uncomfortably from the background. I offered a reassuring smile to him and dad saw my line of sight. "So…are you two…?" Dad asked, glaring at Iggy. I laughed at this. Iggy frowned. "Yes, we're dating, dad." I said. I wanted to ease him in so we'd start at dating.

Iggy grinned at me. Dad instantly nodded slowly, thoughtfully. For once I was glad dad was gonna give him the third degree; it might make Iggy feel part of the family. Dad moved slowly over to Iggy. "What's your real name?" He asked. "James Griffith," Iggy answered on the spot. I bit my lip. "Who are your parents? I want to meet them." Dad said. Iggy instantly frowned. "Dad, that's not an appropriate question." I snapped at dad. "Nah, it's alright. My parents are the Griffiths. I don't know their first names because up until a few months ago I didn't know them. And even then they wanted to make profit off of my wings." Iggy said.

Dad frowned and gaped a bit, obviously stuck in an awkward position. "Sorry," He muttered and turned to head back to mom. Iggy chuckled at this and came to sit beside me. I rolled my eyes at Iggy and punched him in the arm. "Sorry about him; he's a parent. They do that." I said and nodded. Iggy nodded and reached over, randomly kissing the top of my head. I smiled up at him. "I'm glad it's going better for you." He said. I nodded absently. "Sorry again. I mean, I know this is hard for you." I said. Iggy shrugged and grabbed my left hand with his so the rings were touching each other. "It's alright," He said. I smiled and nodded.

"Max is still gonna kill you when we get back to them." Iggy chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

**Josh's POV: Washington, D.C.:**

I hung up the phone at my desk and frowned at the picture frame that sat next to the typical desk phone. It, of course, held Rachael's picture in it. I put it on my desk a month ago when she died. It was just her stupid school pictures. The only ones I had of her other than her school pics were candid shots that she never really liked; just stuff like her brushing her teeth when I was messing with the camera or her in the most embarrassing position because I wanted to blackmail her. But putting those up would disrespect her memory. Mom was either senile or someone was impersonating Rachael.

"What's up?" Tony asked through the mouthful of sandwich he was eating. I plucked up the picture frame and flipped it around. Back then was before she chopped up all her hair and before she had gotten so moody. So she had shoulder-length blond hair and of course her eyes were the weirdest blue you could find on a person. I always teased her about that. Then there was her paleness. She was snow white behind her blind hair and she seemed to always be blushing. That was before she got so smart-alecky. Tony stopped chewing and McGee stopped typing at the sudden tenseness in the air. They knew that Rachael had died. They covered for me when I went to her funeral. "Someone's impersonating my sister." I said and dropped my head into my hands on the desk in front of me.

"What do you mean, Proby?" Tony asked seriously and stood up, walking over to my desk. Ziva frowned from her own desk but didn't move from her spot in her chair in the desk beside mine. My desk was between Ziva's desk and Gibbs's desk. "I mean, my mom just called telling me to get a job for my sister who's been dead for a month. It's either my mom's gone insane or someone's impersonating my sister. I don't think my mom would go insane." I answered, admittedly a bit snippily. But can you blame me? Someone out there was pretending to be my sister. "Well, everyone's mind's got to go at some point." Tony snipped and shrugged. "Maybe your sister's death triggered it." Ziva suggested with her own shrug and tossed the hacky-sack in the air before catching it again.

I frowned at both of them. "I don't know. She said that she's sending 'Rachael' down here, that Rachael came to her and asked them to call me." I answered. "See? If she were truly alive then she would have called herself." Ziva pointed out and pointed at me. I sighed and dropped my head again. "I just don't know; mom's taken this whole thing really badly." I said. "But we'll tell you if we see anyone that looks even remotely like Rachael around here." Tony added and picked up the picture frame from my desk. "How old was she again?" Tony asked and took another bite of his sandwich. I rolled my eyes. Even with the dead he flirted. "She died on her fifteenth birthday after having fought robbers and getting shot." I snapped at him. _Don't flirt with my dead sister. _

_**AN: **__**Next chapter will hopefully be in Josh's POV at least partly! Happy first day of school too, at least if you're in America. If you have some kind of MP3 site that you can look up and listen to songs on, then listen to "Follow Me Down" by 3Oh!3. I do not own the song, obviously. I don't own NCIS, either and nor do I own Maximum Ride. Ellie's all mine though. Mel was mine until she died and was dismembered then put into metallic boxes and buried at the bases of global landmarks all around the world. There will be DRAMA and there will be ACTION later. Hopefully someone will get shot or something. I don't know yet and if someone does, relax, I won't kill them. Happy to assist and serve. *bow***_


	11. Book II: DC

**JPOV~**

"Of all of the people in the world, why would this person choose your sister?" Ziva questioned as she stared down at her computer. I frowned at my coworker. I'd questioned this myself but I could only come up with one possible answer. "She's trying to get to NCIS. The girl requested a spot within NCIS so it makes sense that she's trying to infiltrate us." I voiced my reasoning as I stared at the framed photo of Rachael. I regretted not being able to have heard her issues before she died. I wished that I'd been there when the robbers got in so that…

"Why would robbers gas a house for a robbery?" I questioned. McGee furrowed his brow from his perch, lifting his chin and giving me a confuzzled look. "What do you mean?" He asked. I thought back to the brief summary of the robbery that my mom had told me. "I mean that the robbers gassed my sister's room. My mom was there." I answered him. But this did not make any sense. God, this was all so confusing! "If that's so, then they're both smart and idiotic." Tony answered from his spot behind his desk. He tossed up his apple yet again, catching it over and over before taking a bite from the red skin.

"It doesn't make any sense. No one would rob a house in broad daylight and we had nothing to rob. Why would someone even enter through my sister's room?" I inferred aloud as my mind reeled over this newfound realization. "It doesn't sound like a robbery, Proby." Tony said as he sat straight up and took another bite from the oxidized apple. He then pointed the apple at me as he confirmed my suspicions. "It sounds like a hit." He said. I frowned as I rolled my head back to my own computer and pulled up a search. I searched my sister's name; last name first, first second then the middle last. Results sprung to life on the screen as I began to scan them over, even before they were all loaded. First was Rachael's obituary and as I scanned it all seemed normal. That was, until I got to the last page of the search.

A bright red flag was bleeping as the capital letters of CONFIDENTIAL stared back at me. "Hey, Tim, what would it take to be confidential on a search of a federal computer?" I asked McGee as I glared at the letters that sprung so easily on the screen. McGee only seemed more confused. "Something that a powerful company doesn't want known on a search," He answered and blinked at me. "Do you think your sister was involved with a company like that?" He asked me. I frowned at him. "It'd make sense. Can you track the source?" I asked him. "Only if Abs helps," McGee answered. I nodded to him and he sprung up from his desk. "It shouldn't take very long depending on the power of the company." He told me. "Well then get going," I urged him. He rolled his eyes but headed to the elevator nonetheless.

I looked back towards the photo of my sister. Her blond hair hung limply in the photo and her blue-green eyes shadowed the dark rings that expressed her constant tiredness. She never seemed to be truly awake and I'm guessing that was the reason for her crankiness. It was actually kind of comical when I lived with my parents and her. She'd wake up, groan all the way to school, skip breakfast, complain, and would right out piss off anybody. She would especially fight with that one girl; Melinda Gunderson. I'd heard that they put each other in the hospital merely days before… And that was how I knew the answer before the phone even rang.

I plucked up the receiver from the hook and held it to my ear. "We tracked the source." McGee said into the phone. "Itex, right?" I retorted as I plucked up my sister's framed photo and leaned back in my chair. Her temper had gotten her killed. "How'd you know?" McGee questioned. I frowned at the phone's hook. "She got into a fight with Melinda Gunderson, the daughter of the CEO of Itex. They put each other in the hospital for days. They've been fighting ever since the first grade; I guess Mel called in a favor with daddy dearest." I explained to McGee. "Well, it's a bad thing that Monroe's already in jail. Guess what for." McGee said into the phone. I furrowed my brow at this.

"What?" I guessed. "Illegal experimentation and kidnapping along with murder on several charges." McGee answered to me. I frowned as I looked back to my sister's face. What had she gotten herself into exactly? "Josh, your sister isn't dead. She was kidnapped and replaced with someone else. Itex had her on some of the confiscated files. But you won't even guess what that confidential file on the search was." McGee said. I sighed impatiently into the phone. I was both in shock and pained. My sister was experimented on? "It was a bounty on her head. She was caught twice before escaping for good. There's also another group of kids along with her; a bunch of other experiments." Tim said. I was about ready to growl at the freaking phone.

"What were the experiments? I mean, how did they experiment on people?" I asked. McGee seemed to think for a moment before he said.

"Most of the experiments were kidnapped from birth or even before birth and others were given up willingly. The experiments crossed animal and human DNA to make half-breeds of the species." Tim said. "But Rachael wasn't kidnapped at birth so why would they want her later on?" I asked. "It's all in the files. You ought to come down here so we can explain it in person. You might want to bring Gibbs and the others if she really is gonna help NCIS." Tim said. But this was assuming that I'd give the girl the job. I wasn't even sure if she was my sister or just someone else impersonating my sister. "I haven't made the decision yet, Tim. I don't know if I'm gonna help her in or not." I reminded him.

Tim sighed into the phone before I heard a jostle which sounded oddly like a nod. "Fine, but still we might want to reconsider that. Just bring the others down so we can all have a look." He said. I rolled my eyes before giving my own exasperated sigh. "Fine, I'll call up Gibbs and the others before I come down and you can explain to all of us." I said. I just didn't understand how Gibbs and the others were even involved in this; it was my sister we were talking about and not their own little worker bee.

Still I dialed up Gibbs's cell phone and waited impatiently as I heard it ring. Finally he picked up on the third ring. "Yeah, Proby?" Gibbs answered. "Tim wants us in Abby's lab. He wants to explain something about Rachael to all of us." I said into the phone. "What's it about?" Gibbs questioned. "Itex and my sister; McGee will explain." I said. I really hoped this explained everything.

…

"When FBI raided Itex HQ, they found several footage tapes and files on the experiments. There were a few red-flagged ones that showed potential people." Abby said as she clacked away on her computer. "We found footage of Rachael's time in there; it showed the surgery, it showed the presentation of the DNA and it even showed some rather…gruesome detail." Abby said. She looked towards me with a concerned expression etched on her face. Abby was my NCIS sister and she was constant in her family-play. She thought of all of us as a family and I was kind of grateful for that.

"Do you really want to see this? It gets graphic but it shows her escape throughout the first time. The escape wasn't…clean." Abby vaguely insisted. I frowned at Abby. "I want to see it." I said. I thought I could be strong and just watch it without emotion. But this was my sister we were talking about. "I'll skip over the surgery; that's just a bunch of technical stuff. But the insane part is in her time in the cell." Abby suggested as she clacked away again. We all turned to the plasma screen behind the equipment.

What was now shown was a black and white image of a caged cell. Bars marred the image but I could still see Rachael's face and body, trapped in a hospital gown. "I'm gonna skip over the first two days. She did nothing but sleep that entire time." Abby said as she sped up the tape. The image of my sister seemed eerily still and yet I could see guards walk in and out of the area. I would have thought my sister to be dead if I didn't see her shoulders move as she breathed. Her breathing hitched as she began to wake up on the third day.

My sister blinked awake as she came to and began to glance around. Surprisingly enough though, she didn't seem very shocked as to where she was. She winced as she moved and I finally searched to her binds. I hadn't realized before now that her wrists weren't chained. Rather they were nailed directly to the brick wall behind her. I winced at the very sight of this. Couldn't this kill her from blood loss? What about the veins in her wrists that were being severed? What was going on?

I took a sharp intake of breath as Rachael then looked to the floor, at the blood puddle that pooled beneath her wrists. Her eyes widened as she took in her scene around her and she gasped for breath as she glanced around again. It didn't take very long before her mouth began to move. We missed half the sentence before Abby turned up the audio. "—HERE!" She cried out, wincing as she jostled her wrists. It may have seemed like seconds to us but it was obviously long for my sister before a doctor walked in, carrying a clipboard and scrawling his observations on a sheet. My sister merely glared at him. She never did seem to be the one to beg for mercy.

A gravelly voice then entered the area, familiar due to the news and constant press conferences. "Rachael Elizabeth Kindy," Monroe Gunderson announced. I frowned as his back approached the image. I spotted Gibbs watching with interest as new characters were introduced.

I thought that my sister might be shocked; that Rachael would ask why he was there. But instead Rachael cracked a wicked grin and cackled quietly to herself. "Monroe Gunderson," She growled wildly with a small hiss at the last of his name. She really despised him and at this moment so did I. Monroe glanced over my sister, seemingly satisfied with what he saw. "You look healthy," He chuckled. Rachael seemed prepared for this as she retorted. "You're looking snappy," She hissed sarcastically. Tony snorted from his spot next to McGee. Then she asked a surprising question, one that she seemed proud of in her sarcasm. "How's Mel? She still cut up? I should guess with the way that I _slammed her head into the wall._" Mel emphasized. Monroe seemed confused for a moment before he realized something. "Ah, yes, my daughter," He said with disdain. I scowled at the image on the screen. "Down, boy," Abby giggled to me. I blinked at her as I realized I was growling.

Then this caused a surprising reaction from my sister; she seemed even more angered at this. Rachael licked her lips to resist grinding her teeth; I knew she considered her teeth her best weapon. "How are you feeling?" Monroe asked casually. Rachael cleared her face of all emotion before answering. "Oh, spectacular; ya know, except for the nails in my wrists." She growled. McGee seemed to only just now notice what I'd noticed at the beginning of the video and he glanced away, his face paling as he looked sick. Rachael's tone sweetened as she spoke again. "They're just a bit uncomfortable." She said. Monroe acted as though he hadn't actually noticed this and was appalled at it. "Why, I am so sorry!" He cried out. "I will have those removed just as soon as I get this out of the way," He said in clipped words. What on Earth was this bastard talking about?

"We have a proposition for you." Monroe said. I scowled at the taped image before blinking and deciding to keep it calm. Rachael scanned Monroe's face for any expression other than the façade he held. Finally she growled straight at Monroe who ignored this. "We have a position opening up on the staff." He continued. "It would pay greatly and it would ensure your…protection." Monroe hesitated on the word "protection", using it as a replacement for right-out saying that he wouldn't kill her. Rachael was definitely not convinced. "And what would this 'position' be?" She asked intuitively. Gibbs was looking curious now and rather confused.

"It would be nothing exactly. You see, it would only be a few traveling trips." Monroe said. I felt even more disgusted with him. "You would simply have to alert some people of their…retirement." Again with the hesitation! Rachael's face contorted with anger and disgust. When she responded I flinched at the icy venom in her voice. "I only have one person I'd enjoy to 'retire'," She said but then cut off, thinking. "Make that two." She said. Monroe was confused at this statement. "Who exactly is the second person?" He questioned. Rachael looked on in disbelief as did I. "Melinda Gunderson was the first. You were the second." She answered. Again, her face had cleared into emotionless silence. Monroe matched this.

"I assure you, that would be quite…troublesome—," Everyone flinched as Monroe was cut off by Rachael, my beloved short-tempered sister who'd had just about enough of this. "OH, SHUT UP! SHOW SOME FUCKING EMOTION! I JUST SAID I WANTED TO KILL YOUR DAUGHTER AND YOU! SAY THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE AND SHOOT ME IN THE FUCKING HEAD!" She bellowed out, her face taking on a beet red status. This entirely scared me. She had just suggested that he shot her in the head. "Are you sure that my sister's alive?" I questioned McGee. He frowned at me and nodded to Abby. "The rest will explain some of it." Abby said.

Monroe's face took on just about as much anger as my sister as he glared holes at her. "You will not talk to me in that tone." He hissed as he looked at my sister. "Fucking bastard," I growled as I recognized disgust on his face. "Fuck you, asshole," My sister retorted. Then she told us something we did not fucking know. "Those robots showed more emotion than you. They were more humane." Now, I tell you this; huh? McGee and Abby were thinking the same thing along with Ziva and Tony but Gibbs was his usual curious self.

"Did she just say robots?" McGee asked excitedly. The thought of having a science fiction fantasy come true was…well, just that. "Shush, guys," Abby scolded as she looked back to the screen. "They belong in this world. You belong in a place underground, where you can fully rot your ass of all you want." Rachael spat at Monroe. I frowned. She was plain out asking for death. "You belong in a cemetery with maggots up your ass." Rachael said, smirking all the while. The way I was seeing her was changed now. She was captured, nailed to a wall, bleeding to death and yet she still managed to be sarcastic. My sister was an idiot but she was still goddamned brave.

Abby decided to speed things along and cut out the rest of the banter until a row of what we now knew to be robots entered the view. Rachael shut her eyes tight before the sound of gunfire cracked through the lab. Small explosions of blood appeared on my sister's body, including her head as the bullets hit directly. But I could still see her breathing, even with execution style shots. How was my sister still alive?

"What on earth happened to this girl?" Gibbs asked, voicing my inquiries. "I read over the files and you will not believe the science fiction mumbo jumbo they pulled on her. They crossed her DNA with that of a cheetah but that's not even the freaky part." Abby said and paused, scanning over everyone's expressions before announcing her news. "Her blood had a special chemical in it that allowed her body the strength and speed to withstand and heal from any physical blow. This girl is the strongest person on Earth." Abby said. But then she grimaced and looked towards the tiles of the lab. Tim furrowed his brow. "What else, Abs?" He asked. Hadn't he been here with her?

"Well, I looked over some other files and you won't believe what I found! The daughter of Monroe Gunderson, Melinda Gunderson AKA Rachael's worst enemy, was infused with Rachael's own blood. She disappeared though, about a week ago. What I'm thinking is that Rachael and Mel decided to have a one-on-one in Halo." Abby said. I frowned. "You read too much fiction, Abs." I said as I shoved my hands into my pockets. Then Abby decided to grin. When she grins it either means that she found something good or she found something funny. "You'll never guess what the ties were between Mel and Ray was though." Abby said. I frowned at Abby and sighed. She was all drama today.

"Melinda Gunderson had a romantic crush on Rachael Kindy." Abby stated. And that hit me more than the gunfire on the screen. "You mean they were romantically involved?" Ziva asked the room. I shot a small glare at Ziva. "That's what she's saying." Gibbs chuckled. Toni's mind was already in the gutters though. "Knock it off, DiNozzo." I said as I passed him on the way out. "You even think anything about my sister and I won't be too heartbroken about shooting you in the head." I muttered as I exited the lab, hands still in my pockets. Who was my sister?

**Ellie's POV~**

"I had to tell them or else they wouldn't believe it was me." I reminded Max (yet again) as I stumbled slightly on someone's dropped luggage. "No; what you did was most likely add to their suspicion that you aren't their kid." Max said. Mm, crap she was right. I rolled my eyes as I adjusted the strap on my duffel bag so that it wouldn't leave my side. "You are so lucky that you've helped or else I would have your ass thrown straight out of the Flock!" Max cried out angrily as she pointed at the door for emphasis. I cocked an eyebrow while my lips pulled into a smirk.

"You consider me one of the Flock?" I chuckled as I began to head to the previously mentioned door. I just wanted to get on my flight down to D.C. so that I could see my brother and beat him until he's convinced it's really me. Max rolled her eyes in exasperation before shifting her own backpack on her back and heading to the door. Meanwhile Fang and Iggy were exchanging glances and rolls of the eyes. Something told me they were saying this; girls… "You just cannot be convinced to keep your trap shut, can you? You go off and tell whoever the hell you like!" Crap, she's swearing now. This meant Max was pissed.

"I am sorry if I had to tell my parents that I attributed in previously saving the world and having my genetic code rearranged." I snipped sarcastically as I moved ahead of her out the door. It was raining but no one bothered with caring. None of us got sick, anyways. "Oh, no, you don't! You seriously need to face up to this. You endangered the entire Flock with this when they could've been actually strangers rather than your parents!" Max scolded. I rolled my eyes. "You are paranoid, Max!" I bellowed to the world as I spotted Dr. M's minivan. I don't think she really liked me, Dr. M, I mean. I actually think she kind of hated me for intruding on the Flock and such. I don't hate her (a little afraid of her but I didn't hate her). Dr. M's awesome in my eyes but she's only awesome when she's around the original Flock and not just the extended addition.

"You're gonna miss your flight if you don't hurry up!" Dr. M called from the van. I followed Max, deciding 'leaders first'. Iggy held back behind Fang who approached Max's steaming figure and swiftly wrapped his arms around her waist, just below the wings and embellishing small circles on her back. Iggy, meanwhile, grabbed at my hand before carrying it to my opposite shoulder in a swift way of putting his arm around me. Mm-hmm, my hubby's smooth. "Gee golly, I hope your brother doesn't disapprove of me." Iggy joked a bit as we approached the last door of the minivan.

We climbed into the back row of the minivan and Iggy let me go first before settling into his own seat. Like I said; my hubby's smooth. "Ella and I won't be coming down to start moving the stuff until a few weeks so you'll have to hold on for a little while. You're staying with Rachael, right?" I cringed as Dr. M said my original name. "Yes, we're staying at Rachael's place." Max said. My name seemed so natural in her sentence that I naturally wanted to rip her head off of her neck. "Just until you get to the house; then we're out of there." Max pointed this at Iggy. She said nothing directly to me. I guess she really did love Iggy (like a brother, at least) if she's willing to let him sleep with me (of all people).

Iggy chuckled ignorantly to himself as he kept his arm wrapped lightly around my waist. He could hardly wait if the way he instantly crossed his legs was any indication. "Iggy and I'll have to get to my brother before we can start getting any of you any jobs." I reminded Max. Knowing her, she'd "forget" and storm right up in there to my brother, demanding a fucking job. She rolled her eyes at my statement. "I have to ease him into this, Max. I can't just pull a 'Max' and barge in. Plus we have to make sure he actually believes it's me." I said. Max cocked an eyebrow at me. "How come Iggy's going?" She questioned with a lilting implication in her voice. She was calling my bluff. She didn't think I'd say it. "Because, Maxi, sweets, I'm not gonna make out with _you_ while I'm waiting." I said. Max narrowed her eyes and lifted her lip in a glare.

I returned the glare full-force. "That's enough, you two. I'd hate to see how you two would have to live together for two weeks." Ella said from the front seat. I grimaced at the very reminder. I liked Max; I really did! She was hard-ass and knew how to keep her head held up. But that was just it; so was I. Two of the same charges just cannot go together. We didn't fit in the same household and can barely stand each other in the same freaking room. I guess this was just a way of showing how alike we were. I mean we were great in battle and an awesome team but now that there's no one to fight, we're steadily heading to Hell.

I shut my eyes and leaned into Iggy's shoulder, merely listening to the smooth hum of the road beneath the tires of the minivan. The rain pattered against the pane of the tinted windows and was accompanied only slightly by lightning and thunder, the lightning refreshing a glow behind my eyelids. After a while I was disturbed from my zone by Iggy shaking my shoulder. I guess I'd fallen half asleep seeing as I jolted upright when he shook my shoulder. For that split second I thought that this was urgent, that sirens were going off, that gunfire was ringing out, that we were under attack. But I heard no sirens, no gunfire and we were not under attack. We were, however, at the airport.

I willingly traveled by Iggy's side, my duffel banging against my hip every few seconds. I feared Iggy's and Gasman's routine cavity searches as they were pulled away by security after having been alerted of something explosive on them. I grimaced as I remembered that they had to have been alerted of Iggy and Gasman before we even managed to think of the plane. Andrew knew about these boys and he'd said he'd take care of it. I waited with the Flock with my luggage while Iggy and Gasman were searched "thoroughly". It was just routine procedure to make sure that no one set anything off when they sat down.

After a little bit, the two boys came towards us, looking very calm and yet violated. I cackled to myself as I went to grab onto Iggy's hand. "How'd it go?" I asked him as we moved ahead. Iggy wrinkled his nose in distaste before answering. "Not as good as the last one." He answered. I really hoped he was joking.

…

All around me the Flock was panicking with hissing breaths, sources of comfort, twitches, paranoia and much, much more. We got to ride in first class so no one was around to care. I clutched onto Iggy's hand which he held in a vice-like grip to escape from acting like the others. Max and Fang were basically doing the same. "It's not so bad if you get past the whole…small, tin-can thing." I assured Iggy. Max laughed from her seat. "Don't forget; we spent our lives in dog crates. Any place that's small or crowded might as well be plastic with bars." Max retorted. I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh, wait, that's right; little miss blood-type princess was never put into a dog-crate." Max said in a false chipper voice.

"Yes, because being nailed directly to a brick wall with an 'open-fire' sign on me was definitely better than a dog-crate." I snipped at Max. She narrowed her eyes in a glare but thought better of choosing to say anything other than that. The Flock only calmed, including Iggy, when they slept. And even then I could tell they were all on high-alert. I couldn't sleep as I stared blindly at the small screen in front of me. The small screen was plastered to the back of the seat in front of me and was currently playing some kind of romantic comedy but I wasn't paying attention.

The figures in front of me were silent as I had no headphones on. After the movie was over and since everyone was asleep, the next choice in line was 'Snakes on a Plane', just for the irony of it. I decided to peel my eyes away from the screen only to look at Iggy's and my entwined hands. My arm was held palm-up so that the thick pinked scar was bold on my pale flesh and I had no choice but to stare it down. Flashes of blood and nails swept through my mind, the sound of an electric drill practically being heard by my ears. I stared, unblinking as the memories of the bullets swept through my mind, as the spikes' resounding metallic sounds filled my mind to a point of delusion. The pain of my first shift filled my senses and I only barely managed to control the filling feeling of it.

I snapped my eyes shut and attempted to ease my body in my seat. It scared me that all of this was only just beginning to haunt me. I was just concerned that if I did get that job, would I be able to hold a gun to a person, much like those robots had done to me? Then again, those were robots. They couldn't feel pain, regret; they never registered my expression or the thought of mercy. Those robots were created to do things like that. They were created to gun down immortals, to fill me with holes of bullets, to alert their creator of any kind of escape and to resist me. They were created to do these things because no living man on Earth would be able to do this without the chains of guilt.

"Please put on your seatbelts to prepare for landing. We are approaching D.C. right now. Thank you for flying with us and have a nice stay." The flight attendant's voice broke through my mind as each of the Flock was jolted awake. Everyone put on their seatbelt, including me, as we prepared to land. I wanted nothing more than to get off this airplane this second and just to breathe fresh air so that I didn't have to think any of these thoughts anymore. Iggy was still gripping my hand with his own free hand as he clipped his seatbelt together expertly. He furrowed his brow at my expression as I stared down at the bright red button of the seatbelt, attempting to forget the memories that had just haunted the past few hours of my life.

"You alright, Ellie?" Iggy asked concernedly. Thankfully he kept his voice low so that Max wouldn't hear. I nodded my head and turned to face him. When I saw those clear blue eyes and the miracle that was him, my memories flooded out of my system until all I could think about was him; my husband. I genuinely smiled at Iggy and nodded again. "I'm fine," I whispered to him as I leaned forward and kissed him briefly on the lips. It was enough to still send sparks down my spine though.

The plane dipped forward, nose-first as we descended down to the runway. I clutched onto Iggy's hand as my stomach pitted against me. Iggy gripped my hand just as tightly but concern now etched his entire features. I wanted to tell him that it was alright because it honestly was. When we finally heard the applause from the coach section and we were finally upright again, we all began to unbuckle our seatbelts. The flight attendant announced another thank you for flying with them as I reached up to grab my duffel bag from the overhead bin. Iggy chuckled as he saw that I was still too short to reach all the way up. He stood up in front of me, making absolutely sure that our chests touched as he reached behind his head and grabbed onto my duffel bag. I rolled my eyes but smirked all the while and accepted the bag. "Don't get cocky, Igs." I warned him.

Iggy laughed as we began to head to join the rest of the Flock. Gasman instantly brought up an explosive plan that he came up with in his dream. I grimaced as I tuned them out so that Max wouldn't give me the third degree later. I was last out, seeing as I was the most tolerant when it came to airplanes. I was grateful that Iggy was right in front of me as he listened intently to Gasman's trouble-making. Nothing could compare to the look that Iggy got when he and Gasman concocted another little ploy to blow something up; whether it be robots or… "You are not blowing up our house." I commanded the boys as I pointed a warning finger at their general direction. Iggy chuckled as Gasman pouted.

"We'll have to alert the army-bases or some kind of military of your ideas." I muttered to the two Pyro's. Gasman straight out grinned as Iggy shot me a grateful, mischievous "I'm-gonna-bang-you-later" look. Boy, do I love that look. I smirked at Iggy to send him a flirtatious look that I knew turned him on. "Quit it, you two!" Max called back to us. I rolled my eyes as I followed the Flock, taking up the rear. I gripped onto Iggy's hand once again as we entered the airport. Look out D.C.; you're gonna have a whole new definition of freaks in your dictionary.

**Sorry that I haven't updated in a while and I really do like this story! I've just been busy putting my ideas onto paper and all. Anyways, I will be updating more often and I am going to now start the crossover between NCIS and Max Ride. **


	12. Book II: NCIS

The pitting of the shower droplets melded with the radio's Adam Lambert song; "Pick U Up". As I swung my hips to the beat of the entrancing beat, the march of the music, the creak of the bathroom door alerted me. And for a second, I stiffened beneath the water, freezing in my dance. For a second the shell-shock struck me once more; _robots. They're back. _My thoughts betrayed my once-stable mind as I glared at my foggy shower screen. I couldn't see through it to see who was invading my bathroom. However after a few seconds I didn't need to look as he announced his presence, ever-so-arrogantly.

"'Lax, Ells," Iggy chuckled as I heard the clunk of the toilet seat dropping heavily on the porcelain basin. I smirked slightly to myself as I relaxed my stance and reached up yet again to wring out my dyed hair. I had freshly dyed it as of the last hour or so. I wanted it as dark a brown as possible before we snuck into NCIS. Before we approached my brother, recon was…*ahem* suggested (by Max). We were going to spend a few days around the offices before approached Josh and his crew. Max had already invited herself, Nudge and Fang in on the recon mission so…yeah; it was no longer just Igs and me. Still, we got cool gadgets!

"School finally hitting ya hard?" Iggy guessed as he perched himself on the lidded toilet seat. I hesitated before answering. Of course I finally came to the conclusion that I had to tell him and he had been the one to ask. "Mm-hmm; just a tad," I lied. Truthfully and honestly, inside I was ready to spring into action, ready to attack any oncoming robot, ready to…just survive. My mind was telling me that the School, that Itex, that _Mel_; they were all gone. But my body and my heart…those were saying that they could come back at any second and that I had to prepare for that day. I had to prepare for the day that Mel reassembled, that Monroe got out of jail; that Itex regrouped. I couldn't help but prepare for that day.

We, the Flock and I, were like soldiers after a war. A war is never truly over, never truly won, and so the soldier knows they'll be drafted again and that will be the end of it. At least we can die honorably…or they can. Me? I'll die over a million times and still be sitting pretty while the Flock gained scars, gained injuries that could be permanent, gained wounds. The only scars I had left were the ones that burned on my wrist every time my eyes so much as dropped to them. I could never get rid of those.

"Really? 'Cause we're still freaking out," Iggy admitted to me with a slight laugh. But it was strained; everything was strained. We were all pulled taut after our own war and we didn't know how to act, how to react. If someone so much as tapped us on the shoulder, I fear for that person's life. I smiled at my husband's words. Of course they were still freaking out.

"You were in it a long time before me." I retorted as I reached out and twisted the knob, cutting off the spray to only droplets. I reached outside of the curtain and grabbed at my towel, pulling it in swiftly before wrapping it around my body twice. I'd gotten leaner and gentler, rolling in unnatural ways that my cheetah body felt natural to. I flung the sterile blue curtain away as I stepped outside onto the cold tile. We only had boxes outside and not even many at that. The Flock and I had managed through the cab ride here, to the lush apartment on Oak. It was gorgeous and large and had enough space for each of us. I don't know what Andrew was thinking, buying such an expensive apartment for us but he called it a "gift".

I know that Andrew only wants to help, only wants to "thank" us for our "contribution to the world" but eventually we would all find the gifts too much and we would be indebted more so than we already are. Iggy was sitting pretty on the toilet seat, his legs spread out calmly as though he were relaxed though I knew far better than to think he was. God, I loved that he didn't wear a shirt when he slept most of the time. He was wearing a long pair of flannel pajama bottoms, orange and brown plaid and seeming odd on his body.

I involuntarily reached out and placed a hand on the flat panel on the left side of Iggy's chest. Beneath my palm a steady beat rose, drowning out the radio. _Bu-bump_…_Bu-bump_…_Bu-bump_… The beat of his heart clouded all of my senses as I relaxed onto Iggy's lap. This moment made every other contentment seem so stressed compared to this. Right now, this moment where I knew that Iggy was alive and my husband, was true happiness in my eyes.

Iggy's lips pulled upwards in a contented smile as he lifted his own hand to place on top of mine. Slowly but not hesitantly Iggy leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips. I smiled beneath the smile as I kissed him back. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Other people need this bathroom, thank you very much!" Nudge's voice cried out as Iggy and I jolted apart. I rolled my eyes as I stood up from Iggy's lap. I quickly fixed my towel as Iggy groaned in protest. I rolled my eyes with a playful smirk on my lips. "You honestly thought we had a chance with the bird-kids in the house?" I snorted to him as I approached the door. I unlocked the door from where Iggy had locked it (obviously he had thought we had a chance) and opened the door. Nudge's beautiful mocha face stared at me, hard as a rock and blank as she tilted her nose to the air indignantly. "Fine," I grumbled as I side-stepped the preteen to get out of the bathroom. Iggy shot Nudge a joking glare as he begrudgingly followed. I headed to the oversized bedroom where I had dropped my stuff on the pre-made bed. The linens were carefully traced on top of each other, not a single crease in sight as the pillows seemed nice and inviting. Sure enough it would be able to hold each and every bird-kid in this apartment.

Two nightstands surrounded the large bed, both a polished wood with black brass handles and an intricate design at the base of the handles. The aura they both gave off was antique though I knew they were odd replicas. On either nightstand were lamps, each slim with what seemed like silk midnight-colored shades. The color of the shades matched the color of the bedding rather oddly as the pillows each clashed between white and midnight. The entire bedding took up most of the room though there was still plenty of room left to lead to the walk-in closet and the multiple doors that led to the kitchen, bathroom, living room and guest room.

A dresser sat off to the right of the doorway if you were to just walk in, the wood and style matching that of the nightstands. The carpet however was a lush black, seeming to clash though to blend with the décor. The walls each sat pretty, each painted a sky blue, a neutral color. No artwork or fancy paintings that meant nothing to us batted the walls as this was meant to be customized, an apartment meant to be lived in. The second that the door swung closed behind Iggy I dropped my towel. Iggy gave another groan as I chuckled to myself.

"If you can't control yourself, get out," I sang to my husband as I reached into my duffel bag and pulled out the black pair of Hanes boxers for women. I pulled on the underwear first, standing topless and very exposed before I reached in and pulled out the white bra I had buried deep within. Again I couldn't get the damn clasp closed but by now Iggy was used to it. He chuckled to himself as he pulled the straps taut and buckled it. "I wanted to talk to you before tomorrow." Iggy stated seriously as he tossed me my oversized black Hoodie. I pulled on the jacket and zipped it up halfway before leaving it open, exposing my front.

"What about tomorrow?" I asked. But I knew. Iggy was still concerned about meeting my brother even if Josh didn't know just yet that Iggy had any relation to me whatsoever, much less that we were married. Like any self-respecting man, Iggy feared of rejection. And tomorrow would be the day that we went in and would be the day that Iggy started as the "Proby" of NCIS. We had made sure that I would not be in Josh's group and that Iggy would be in Josh's group so that we would have an inside spy who would not A) blow our cover completely with her temper (Max), B) blow his cover with his silence (Fang), C) blow her cover with her chattiness or D) blow her cover with him…just knowing, just recognizing me (me). Gasman and Angel weren't going to be in on the recon (obviously) because they are too young and I doubt even junior agents is that young.

"Your brother; I'm concerned that he could…blow our cover, even before we get too far into the game." Iggy stated. I rolled my eyes as I dropped my duffel bag off of the bed and sat down in its place. I crossed my freshly shaved legs (thank GOD!) before patting the spot next to me. I would rather not stand if this would take as long as I expected it to. Iggy hesitated before coming to sit beside me. I reached over and clasped Iggy's face between my palms so that I would have his full attention.

"He won't recognize me because I will be in a whole other department. He has no clue who you are and he will not unless you are the one to blow our cover. Thank you and goodnight!" I cried out as I stood and took a theatrical bow. Iggy snorted once before grabbing hold of my hand and pulling me onto the bed beside him. We were barely married and yet I knew, somehow I knew, I would spend the rest of my life loving this man. Okay, boy. Okay, bird-boy. SHUT UP!

**JPOV~**

"New PROBY!" Toni cried out with a whoop. I rolled my eyes as I glanced out the window. The sky was black and midnight, shadowing over the brightly lit skyscrapers and buildings. "You should be happy, Joshua. You will not be the new one after this boy comes." Ziva insisted as she sat at the edge of Toni's desk. I frowned at this. I really should have been happy. I'd been the Proby for the past…two years? Now I was gonna be a senior agent and I could pick on the new Proby all I wanted. Still, I couldn't find it in my heart to do that. This guy sounded nice. In his profile, Jeff Ride seemed perfectly alright to me. He looked young but I guess he just had one of those faces that betrayed him. He was actually 21 and kicking. The guy seemed alright, a safe bet.

Actually Jeff reminded me a lot of how I was about two years ago. He reminded me of how much I'd gotten into before I joined NCIS. The dude had some rep as a joker and though he didn't seem very serious he was alright. "Jeff's gonna have his ass handed to him," Toni chuckled from his seat as he glared at the blue hacky-sack he'd been tossing. He and Ziva tended to toss things around, always playing around and betting on things. I couldn't believe how they did this; they seemed to never be affected by the drama and chaos that happens within our cases.

"Be nice, Tone." I joked to my coworker. Toni chuckled before sighing and leaning back in his seat. In full truth we were all just killing time. It was too early to go home and go to bed and to go to a club would just seem too dull compared to our daily basis activities of going to clubs on cases. Once you saw through one side of the glass you could never see through the other side again. "Anyways, the guy seems nice." I admitted with a shrug as I clicked a few buttons on my keyboard.

Toni scoffed jokingly from his seat at his desk. "Ya going gay on us, Kindy?" He chuckled. I rolled my eyes as I frowned at my desk. My eyes had caught onto the picture of Rachael on my desk. _She's alive…_Every time I thought it and every time it sunk it, everything just seemed to be so odd, such a lie. She had died once and was still legally dead. According to mom she wants to remain dead. Things would be too complicated for her and her 'friends'. I guess she was talking about the other experiments. I clacked onto a few keys on my keyboard. Lately McGee had found more and more satellite photos of my sister and has been sending them to me via email. I had a thick file-load on my computer now. I just hadn't had the chance to look through them yet.

Or at least I told myself that. I guess I was avoiding it really. I mean, wouldn't you if you had just found out your sister was alive? Still, I begrudgingly clicked on the file marked with a bold 'R' in the corner on my screen. Immediately a gallery popped to life onto the screen and the white background was married with tiny black squares, too small to be identified as pictures. Those were a lot of pictures. I clicked on the first one automatically. This one was one of her exiting a store in Texas. But she was different there.

Instead of the pale blond hair of my sister, the hair this girl wore was tinged orange with blood. She wore a white V-neck and a set of jeans though you could see a splotch of red on the shoulder of the shirt. I hated that my sister, though unrecognizable, had been bleeding. Rachael's hair was back to its shoulder-length form by now. She was glancing in one direction, obviously paranoid though I could understand why. I'd be paranoid too if I'd gone through what she'd gone through. The surroundings seemed so…odd to be around her. I could still imagine the same sister I'd used to spend hours playing Scrabble with just because there was a blackout. I could still imagine the same sister who'd told me she had found a way to get rid of her fear of the dark…at age 13. Ironically she had watched some episode of some TV show about Bloody Mary and decided to keep it dark. I don't know how she came to this conclusion but it worked.

Everything I remembered about Rachael seemed to be mismatched on the face of this paranoid, hard-faced girl. It was impossible that they were the same person. I switched to the next picture. It was a surveillance photo from Las Vegas. Wait… "McGee," I grumbled as I glared at the picture on the screen. It was a strip-joint. And my sister was there, in the center of the room, in the arms of a silver-bikini-clad girl. McGee approached me cautiously however he froze when he saw the picture. I restrained the growl that erupted when he tilted his head to the side to get a better angle of the picture. "That is…" McGee trailed off. He was the one who SENT ME THE PICTURE!

Toni was curious by now as was Ziva. Both approached my desk, both freezing beside McGee. "Is that a stripper?" Ziva questioned blatantly. Toni instantly gawked. "That's MEL GUNDERSON!" He roared as he broke into fits of laughter. Realization passed Ziva's face as she realized this. Abby had said that Mel and Rachael had a romantic relationship.

"What's Melinda Gunderson?"

We each turned to stare at the approaching figure of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The usual silver Boy Scout cut he wore still seemed odd on his head to me, a little bit like he was trying to recapture his youth. Still the ladies seemed to fawn over his unusual hard-as-brick personality and determination. I suppose that was just another perk to the job; the ladies. "A picture of Joshua's sister and Melinda Gunderson; it is very intriguing." Ziva teased with a sly smirk on her lips. I rolled my eyes. Ziva just had to humiliate me every chance she got. Gibbs raised an eyebrow but didn't ask. That was another good thing about Jethro; he didn't ask.

Ziva seemed a tad bit disappointed before she reached over without permission and clicked to go to the next picture. Somehow it had gone from Rachael and Melinda to a very sick looking Rachael. "Ah, so it was forced upon her." Ziva concluded, speaking our thoughts at the girl. Ziva clicked again but this time…nothing. For the next dozen or so clicks all that showed on the images of the pictures was a black abyss. Someone must have blacked out the camera. We all watched as the shots turned to a few grainy pictures. However, these few images…showed Halo (or more specifically, a very tall skyscraper). For the life of me I couldn't decipher anything other than the obvious building and two clashed specks halfway down the building.

"Send it over to Abs. She can probably clear it up."

We all jumped as we turned towards Gibbs's figure behind us. We hadn't realized that he had stealthily made his way into the crowd. "Then go home; shift's over for tonight. You got a new trainee tomorrow." Gibbs commanded. Ziva headed over to her desk without a response whereas Toni gave a joking salute and McGee a stern nod. I only watched as Gibbs walked towards his desk and flipped on his lamp light. We all knew that he stayed after hours however he sent us home before we discovered what he did. Something told me that despite my curiosity, I didn't want to know.

_**Ellie's PoV: Next Day:**_

I stood in front of the mirror, examining my reflection.

I had chosen my usual frames of glasses and had pulled my hair into a taut bun though flyaway strands made their way to frame my features. I wore a white oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and un-tucked over my black pair of slacks. I wore my usual black boots along with the outfit while my face had also been remodeled ever so slightly. Now instead of my pert features, my face wore a mask of blemishes and crooked features. I had also inserted my contacts of green into my eyes and framed them with thick black lashes. Rather than my face staring back at me, the face of Elliot Jamison stared back.

I would be playing the role of a temp agent as a secretary in the entrance way to help direct those around me. I grimaced at my face. There was nothing wrong with it but…it was so foreign…I couldn't help but feel betrayed that I had to disguise myself with unusual makeup and near plastic surgery. I felt betrayed by both myself and my brother. I was doing this all to help ease Joshua into believing that I am his sister.

You would think that the makeup would be uncomfortable however it seemed oddly enticing. The mask was laid against my skin so briefly, so gently that I was starting to wonder if it was only the air that was touching my face. And yet each feature, each foreign feature, was secured to the brim. My hair was the usual brunette dye however Nudge had helped me place thick red highlights into the locks and to curl it. Nudge had also been the one to help me with my makeup (thanks to an online tutorial given by "Leroy"). Nudge had been able to absorb and copy the information, the process, the steps in one try. It was amazing what that girl could do.

My heels clacked against the wood of the apartment as I stepped outside of the bathroom. Max still looked at me funnily as she had already seen my face. Iggy was pouting and Fang was…well, he was indifferent. "Are you ready to meet my brother, Iggy?" I asked Iggy. In full truth I was only attempting to use the false voice on him. The voice was a few octaves lower than my usual tone however not too low and was hardly anything other than what you might call "brassy". Nudge grinned at me from her spot. No one would recognize her so she had gone all out and had curled her hair into thick ringlets around her face. She was wearing a navy colored skirt-suit with the collar on the oxford shirt beneath the blouse unbuttoned at the top to reveal her collarbone. And the fact that each of the bird-kids seemed to be far older than teenagers helped their cases.

Nudge's long legs were shrouded in pantyhose as her feet were clad in a pair of painful looking stiletto pumps the color of midnight. Nudge was pulling off the sexy agent part of her role as her eyes were highlighted with mascara and thick rings of eyeliner. A soft shade of sky blue powdered her eyelids and her lips painted a soft pink gloss. Iggy rolled his eyes as he handed me my glass of orange juice. "No but I have no choice, do I?" Iggy pouted again as he made his own meal. Still Iggy placed a soft peck upon my head. With my makeup on he only felt comfortable kissing the natural beauties of my head. Okay, even the hair was dyed.

"None," I answered quirkily as I sipped at my orange juice. The thick grainy fluid swam smoothly down my throat and past my lips. I was surprised that my face didn't fall off as I ate and drank naturally. Iggy sighed as I took in his appearance. Iggy was definitely the sexiest beast I had ever come to know. He wore a pair of black slacks along with a white oxford shirt, neatly tucked in though his sleeves were rolled to the elbows just as mine were and only showed the scars only my specific sight could detect. Each scar brought a memory and an urge to pull him into my arms. I restrained however I did attempt at the usual "I'm-gonna-bang-you-later" look that Iggy and I shared. It appeared that even when disguised it worked as Iggy's fluid blue eyes smoldered behind the lenses of his glasses and he tilted his face downwards to send the same look right back.

"Nudge and I will go first as we're in the same department." Max claimed, snapping Iggy and me away from each others' gazes. I could barely breathe anymore when Iggy was around though we'd been married almost a month now. Max turned towards me with a glint in her eye that claimed she was happy to be back in leadership. I'll admit it; I was happy too. I missed having Max tell me what to do, what to say, when to do it, when to say it…wait, hmm…. "Iggy will come in after us and you will come in last as you are only a temp and we can't risk having you seen with us." Max said. She was happy to say that, wasn't she? I rolled my eyes as Iggy overcame a bored look at his leader.

Max stood from her perch on a stool she had been sitting on at the kitchenette off to the edge of the dining room. Iggy had been overjoyed when he saw the kitchen; _our _kitchen. I looked over Max's appearance with a shock. She was wearing a full black pantsuit with the oxford top only unbuttoned at the collar once, not even showing as much as Nudge. Her feet were clad in a pair of flats though they still appeared as professional as any pair of pumps. Max's mix hair was straightened to stock straight stillness around her face as her eyes were coated in a gray tint and ringed with mascara and eyeliner. Her own lips were painted the faintest of all reds as her cheeks seemed just a tad bit more colorful.

"Fang will go in with Iggy." Max said finally with her ever-so-dreamy sigh. I turned my own eyes to catch onto Fang's appearance. The boy wore a black oxford shirt in the same style as Iggy's with his own set of black slacks and style-perfect loafers.

But what really caught me was that Fang…had chopped his hair. The once-before long curtaining black locks were now trimmed neatly to his head and gelled to a perfect Clark Kent style. "Got a Superman suit under there?" I snickered as I sipped at my juice once more. Fang rolled his eyes as he stood up but even cracked a smirk as he caught Max's eyes. I don't know what they were communicating right then however the next color that spread through her cheeks was not any type of makeup. I rolled my eyes at their own eye-conversing as I stood.

Iggy approached me hesitantly before placing a kiss upon my falsified lips. I smiled at this however couldn't help but grimace at the fact that with the makeup coating it…I couldn't feel his heat. I rolled my eyes in slight annoyance as Iggy wrinkled his nose. "Get going; I'll see you later." I instructed Iggy. He nodded immediately and followed Fang out. "Later, you will take off that makeup," He growled at me on the way out. I couldn't help but grin at the comment as I nodded. "Of course," I called back with a roll of my eyes. I opened my mouth in a yawn. It was far too early. Max and Nudge were first out while the boys followed. I'd be going later.

I fingered the brim of my glass as I waited for my time. I would have to be at the base at nine and it was already eight thirty so I headed out, grabbing my pea coat on the way. Angel and Gasman laughed from behind the couch as they watched me go. I jokingly stuck my tongue out at them. "Wish me luck!" I called to them. Gasman only rolled his eyes before Angel called out to me. "Good luck!" She called to me. I grinned at the little girl before shutting the door of the apartment. I ran down the hall, an amazing feat in these heels, before climbing into the elevator.

…

"So, all you'll have to do is direct people in the right direction when they ask or hand them a map. While you're waiting, there are a few reports you could type up for me on your desk." My supervisor, Alyssa, instructed me. I nodded along to her words as she smiled at me. The girl was much, much, much taller than me with long blond hair and a pencil skirt with an oxford shirt. The woman was…odd. I mean, she smiled every second that she talked to me. "Okey-doke; I'll get right on that." I told her. Alyssa grinned yet again before giving a thumb-up sign and heading away from me.

I sat down in the chair behind the long wrap-around desk. It reached up high so that only my eyes could glimpse above the level and that was when I sat up ramrod straight. I began typing up the sheets, only bothered once or twice by a few newcomers before Alyssa came to me again.

"Ellie, could you do me a favor and run this down to Gibbs's desk? I have to get to a meeting real quick and I don't have time." Alyssa instructed me as she dropped a manila envelope on top of the desk's raised platform. I nodded hesitantly before picking up the package. "Thank you so much; you saved my life!" Alyssa cried out before running off. I couldn't resist saying it. "Not the first time," I grumbled as I headed away from the desk. Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Crap; he was in Iggy's and Josh's department.

I begrudgingly made my way up the stairs to where the NCIS agent cubicles were and gladly made my way down the narrow strip between the enlarged cubicles that could hold at least ten desks at a time. And the instant that I was in range, I could hear him. "So…you got a sweetheart at home, Proby?" Josh's voice questioned curiously. I knew that tone though. Damn it; he was pulling one over on Igs. I rolled my eyes as I came close enough to see Gibbs in his desk. The man seemed odd in the head; he had a silver uniform Boy Scout cut and light blue eyes, all matched with some uniform suit with nothing but a men's V-neck beneath the open blazer. Still, his glare at the computer seemed oddly intimidating.

I stuck on my hard-as-rock expression as I approached the cubicle. I knocked on the shoulder-height wall to announce my presence. Just about everyone looked up and I could see it took a second before Iggy recognized me. I smiled at Gibbs directly though. "Alyssa told me to come drop this off for you." I informed Gibbs as I held out his package to Gibbs. "Thank you," Gibbs said blankly as he set the package aside. I frowned at this but shrugged it off. I glanced at Iggy once before I saw his face. Shock. But not at me; no, he was staring at the package. Crap. I knew that look.

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while and all but I'm updating more now. Anyways, I am also sorry for leaving every story on a cliffhanger without updating but I will try as much as possible to update. Anyways, I don't own Max Ride or NCIS but I do own Ellie and this story. **


	13. Book II: NCIS part II

I settled myself into the depth of Iggy's and my (super-comfy) bed as a sigh escaped my lips. The water ran, a hushed monotone from within the bathroom as Iggy brushed his teeth. "You're running up the water bill, ya know." I joked to my dear husband as I turned my body in the direction of the bathroom door from our secluded bedroom. Max and the rest of the Flock were each in either the living room or one of the (many) guestrooms. "Ha, ha; you're hilarious. Andrew's paying for the apartment anyway and he's got endless funds." Iggy retorted dryly as he silently shut the tap off.

I smiled silently to myself once Iggy had returned to the bedroom. I could never get over the fact that I had married this remarkable porcelain god. Each muscle on Iggy's torso appeared amplified by the tight-brimmed set of black boxers upon his thighs and carefully reaching mid-thigh. His recently cut ginger hair appeared ruffled, mussed and completely…I don't know; just Iggy. But what amazed more every single time that I looked upon him were the tan set of wings upon his back that would take up the entire room had he let them out (and this is a pretty damn big bedroom). But it was not the matter that Iggy had wings that amazed me; no, that novelty had worn off long ago. However it was what they represented; the School. The fact that Iggy was strong enough to live nearly twelve years without his sight, to run through that torture and then come back to me was…that was just Iggy.

"What?" Iggy murmured absently as he stepped over to the opposite end of the bed. I frowned at my husband. No, we had not gotten over the entire new couple bit where the set cannot stand a single second with their hands off of each other. It was more of the fact that we had gotten the threat from Max that if she hears one noise from our bedroom that she would send Gasman in to sleep in our bed. And as much as Iggy and I love the munchkin, we aren't willing to risk our scentless night.

"Nothing much," I muttered as I rolled onto my stomach. Though we couldn't "sleep" together, I still liked to tease with my fancy-Nancy Hanes boxers and sports bra. Okay, in case you haven't noticed that was sarcasm right damn there. Still, my darker-than-brown hair slapped noiselessly about as I moved. "Still can't believe that you found a bomb on your first day is all." I admitted with a tinge of a shrug. YES, my PEOPLE! That was what the look had been. Of course I had attempted as much as I could to pretend that I didn't know that it was an AT-I or that I didn't know that Iggy could deactivate it in less than thirty seconds with a thumbtack. I had also managed to keep my act up for the past week or so after that.

"That was a week ago, Ells; ya still think I'm that hotrod?" Iggy chuckled smugly as he flipped the sheets over on the bed. Rolling my eyes I stood from my side of the bed and plucked up my ring from the bedside. I lifted my left hand with a smug smile on my face as I made a show of slipping the ring on my ring finger and gazing adoringly at the simple thing. "Eh," I retorted with a shrug as I slipped into the bed. Iggy rolled his eyes sarcastically as he, too, slid beneath the bed sheets.

A squeal escaped me as Iggy scrambled over, pinning me to the bed for a monster-like kiss upon the neck. Then Max sent in Gasman. Ugh…that was one stinky night.

**Next Week: Monday, front door:**

Max glared openly as Iggy and Gasman frowned longingly at each other, most likely telepathically concocting yet another bomb that I would never listen to (in fear of Max's wrath or even worse of her wrath). Fang rolled his eyes at our glaring-contest as he stood by. Angel and Nudge were merely standing, awkward, as they attempted to think of a fair farewell. Before Max could lose (trust me, I saw her eye twitch) Nudge and Angel had tackled me, effectively wrapping their arms around my waist and exclaiming goodbyes to me. I blinked openly as I stared down at them. You would think that I was going off to war with this farewell.

Jeez…

I mean, I love the little munchkins (no doubt about that!) but they could be so dramatic sometimes. "It's just that this is the first time the Flock's been split up like this, well, except for the time that Fang and Max separated the Flock into boys versus the girls and we went to Germany and they went to some deserted island type thing and drowned a bunch of Flyboys…!" Nudge was effectively cut off by Max's hand slapped over her mouth. I smirked silently at Max, agreeing in my head that Nudge had indeed needed to be shut off.

Max released a chuckle with a roll of her eyes. Of course this was our relationship; we were pissed at each other (more like she was pissed at me) then we made up by commenting internally that we both loved the Flock and their little tidbits.

I spread out my arms wide as Angel pressed backwards in order to spread the room. Nudge followed the lead, efficiently confused though. Max finally did something I never thought she'd ever do…she smiled. At me. She genuinely smiled in my direction! "We will miss living with you." Max admitted with a soft sigh as she reluctantly pressed into the open hug. "Just this once; you know you want this hug." I chuckled as I placed my hands on her back, hugging her close to me. Max finally wrapped her arms around my neck as she placed her chin on her own elbow.

I was the one, though, that caught total sight of both Iggy and Fang practically drooling at this sight. Of course Iggy's had his full share of lesbian girls after Mel's little stripper escapade. "Alright, alright!" Iggy finally cried out after a moment. And after that hug I absolutely knew; she'd forgiven me. "Get out of my house!" Iggy exclaimed, opening the door wide for emphasis. And truthfully I did want them a little bit gone so that Iggy I could *ahem* celebrate our first home alone. "Thanks, a lot, man," Fang snickered sarcastically as he held out his fist to Iggy. Iggy actively bumped fists with Fang before bumping fists with Gasman.

"Fine, but you're definitely gonna have to come to visit us on your days off from NCIS! Oh, and we need stories since I got fired…" Yes, Nudge was very efficiently fired. Of course it had been some kind of "malfunction" in the computer when she had decided that all the files in the computer needed to be more colorful than stationary and had very effectively made most of the files very, VERY pink. This was mainly to my annoyance as well as everyone else's (I really don't like the color pink). Not to mention whenever someone would send a very IMPORTANT letter to someone it would end up pink (okay, so mainly my innuendo-like messages to Iggy). I didn't blame anyone for firing Nudge but I did love her craziness so I kind of had to feel at least a little bit sorry for her.

Max mercifully hurried Nudge along out the door with a respectful nod to me, attempting to regain her dignity. And then…everyone was gone…

Before I knew much at all I had been very gracefully swept off of the floor and into Iggy's arms, my own arms reaching down to wrap around his neck as he held me higher than himself in the air yet close to his body. A sly smirk placed itself upon my face as I hastily wrapped my legs around his body. "Finally," Iggy grunted magically as he lifted his face to mine though the distance wasn't very great. "I have you all to myself." He groaned as our lips hastily crashed to each other.

**Iggy PoV: Next day: NCIS cubicles:**

A content sigh escaped me as I escaped the elevator and all of its confines. And though I DID see Toni at my desk I had to admit that I didn't really care if he was going through my stuff. I just cared that Ellie and I had FINALLY gotten our apartment all to ourselves and that it meant the most wonderful, loudest, craziest, kinkiest things that I have ever done and I suspect that half of those things we did were very illegal in just about half of the world and half of the states in the United States of the…oh, crap.

Toni's boisterous laughter filled the entire room as I began to run forward. Of course…the pinkness of the e-mails seemed so bright to me as I stared at the screen, hidden behind Toni's bulking form. "Oh, crap," I muttered as I reached up absently. My hand ran through my hair. Toni turned slightly at the sound of my voice. "Your girlfriend has quite the…*ahem* potty mouth." Toni commented. I had to restrain the growl threatening to rise up. I turned to the screen, attempting to butt Toni to the side and close the file. Of course I was slightly glad that he had chosen the least dirty of them all to read.

"She's inventive too." Toni laughed as he strode over to his own desk, seeming quite content with himself as he placed himself casually into his seat. "Yeah, well….she's one of a kind." I didn't know my voice could go so high in embarrassment. I attempted to blink away the embarrassment as I sent a quick "don't send more dirtiness; big brother's watching" to Ellie. I prayed to God that she would get that before she attempted to e-mail me some more. I glanced over, attempting to see if Josh had been around. Thankfully he hadn't been around. In fact…where was everyone?

"New case, Proby; you came in late." Toni commented as he tossed me something…heavy. I caught it easily as I peered down. I found that it was a bag of what appeared to be film equipment. I glanced over at the watch on my wrist, searching the time. "I start at six; it's five thirty." I attempted to Toni. Toni cocked a challenging eyebrow. Now if Ellie had seen that she would have had a stick up his ass…and God, now I'm expecting my wife to stick up for me. I am so royally whipped.

"You usually get in at five, Ride-me-a-river," Toni commented casually as he stepped down the walkway to get to the elevators. "Had some issues…getting here." I admitted vaguely as I followed Toni. I attempted at carrying the bulky camera equipment bag at the same time that I was pulling on my jacket. "You're taking the stairs, Proby; meet me at the door in two." Toni ordered as he urgently pressed the number on the door. Of course that gave me two minutes to get down the stairs, to the door, pull on my jacket, and carry the equipment and blah-blah. Yeah; Toni's a hard-ass. But with Max as a leader I'm kinda used to hard-asses.

"Issues?" A familiar voice chuckled. I turned contently to see Ellie, however, still in disguise. I hated that goddamn makeup. I nodded silently with an apologetic look as I began to head out. Of course Toni was tapping his watch at the door, rather impatiently when I had thirty seconds left on the clock. "Gotta go, bye!" I exclaimed as I rushed forward, jacket still half-limp.

=i=I=i=

Though my gag-reflex remained nonexistence at the sight, disturbing images did, indeed, resurface in my mind. The body stood, limp and dead, upon the ground, literally halfway into the ground and halfway-sticking up as the NCIS crew and I stared. "See this?" Toni instructed gravely, gesturing with his camera to the sight. Toni patiently waited until I nodded. Yes, I saw it. It was kind of hard to miss. Though only the upper half of the body could be seen, propped out of the ground we could still see that the dirt only disguised the khaki pants of the body.

"We see stuff like this every day."

I hated that. My eyes glimpsed in the direction of Joshua. Maybe it ran in the family. Ellie's dad was a cop, her brother saw this and Ellie herself had been subjected to the scum of the School, indirectly playing favorites with the director of Itex. I had to refrain yet another growl as I thought of Ellie's time in that rot-house of a place. _I used to see this every day too. I thought that was behind me… _And though I didn't like the sight of this body, I had to admit that the sense of knowledge, the knowing that I would help find the person who did this was the most righteous feeling ever. Well, not as righteous as marrying Ellie but a close second.

"Are you really willing to see this every day?" Toni asked me, barely a breath in my ear. He was serious. I knew that. "If it means that eventually I'll help find the person who did this then fine." I admitted truthfully and honestly. Both Gibbs and Josh looked up at my response as I peered down at the ground. "Funny; Josh puked the first time I did that." Toni laughed, his joking matter back at hand. Josh narrowed his eyes in a glare at Toni as I restrained the chuckle. "Let's just get back to work, DiNozzo." Josh growled out as he continued to take photos.

I frowned as I raised my own camera to the scene, peering through the glass lens. After a few shots Gibbs called out Ducky. I had heard a lot about Ducky…but I hadn't expected him to be so short.

**Ellie PoV: Back at HQ:**

"Jamison!" I turned in the direction of the voice. Of course Alyssa showed up directly on time. She turned to me, an apologetic smile upon her face. "I'm sorry to say this but the spot's been filled by a permanent person. Sad to say too 'cause we were supposed to have that new Monroe girl here tomorrow…oh, I'm so sorry!" Alyssa exclaimed. "'Monroe'?" I stated absently, attempting at appearing clueless as I silently thanked God. I didn't want to have to be in two places at once. And I was supposed to start using my original face tomorrow but not in the same grouping as the Gibbs grouping.

"Yeah, she's in with Clyde's agents. I am so sorry 'cause she seemed positively spotless when we interviewed her!" Alyssa exclaimed. It was nice to hear that from someone about me. I attempted at seeming disappointed and I think I drew it a bit thick since Alyssa reached her arms out, rushing me into a hug. "Oh, thank your agency for us; we absolutely adored you but the permanent spot's been filled!" Alyssa exclaimed. This was my dismissal, no doubt.

"Thank you," I said in a clipped manner as I turned to the desk. I grabbed my jacket and my bag silently with a final smile. Then I left. And while Alyssa thought I would head back to the agency, I was heading home to fill my day with Netflix and ice cream.

=e=E=e=

"So, you got fired today?" Iggy chuckled lamely as he entered through the door, dropping his keys at the table by the door. I frowned up at Iggy, my eyes wide and shining. "But I really wanted to meet that Monroe girl!" I whined sarcastically. Iggy full-out laughed as he stepped over to the couch where I sat. He bent low, torturously pretending to bend to kiss me before he finally breathed into my ear his words. "Go take off the makeup." He breathed into my ear. I smirked at his husky voice, silently boasting to every girl in the world; this boy was mine. "I know; I don't have to wear the makeup anymore. I'm…so…glad!" I exclaimed as I shot from my seat on the couch.

Escaping to the bathroom I shut the door behind me and turned to the mirror. It wasn't two seconds after I had escaped my cage of makeup that the door opened gently. Peering into the mirror I found Iggy's face, his expression hungry and lustful. I smirked, my face now back to its pert features and luscious fines. My hair flew around me as Iggy spun my figure to him, roughly pulling me close to his body. My hands reached up, gripping and biting into the back of Iggy's neck as he pulled me in for the deepest, roughest kiss that I've had in a while. In fact, it quite reminded me of our wedding night.

A girlish giggle escaped my lips as Iggy lashed out, swiping the entire counter of everything; toothbrushes, hairbrushes, makeup and more. Quickly and roughly, Iggy placed me on the edge of the sink, his hands abruptly meeting the waist of my jeans. I grinned to myself as I reached downwards, quickly unclasping the buckle of his belt. Iggy's lips and teeth bit into my neck, leaving small marks that would heal easily within the hour. A moan escaped me as his lips reached the crook of my neck and his hand began to graze beneath my shirt, just below my bra.

A growl escaped Iggy's lips as he roughly pulled my jeans downwards, exposing my lady boxers. A sigh of content was released as Iggy gruffly pulled me even closer to him. I shut my eyes tightly against the feel of just him against me. It was perfection. "I love you, Iggy." I breathed into his ear. Then his own lips released my neck to breathe his own words into my ear.

"I love you more than you will ever know."

**Next Day: NCIS:**

"Hi, I'm here to pick up my badge…?" I announced to the new woman at the counter. The woman looked up with hasty eyes and nodded seriously, not saying a word. Wow…hmm… "Name." The woman demanded. I frowned as I raised my eyebrows in slight irritation at this woman. She was annoying with her silence. "Um, Elizabeth Monroe," I answered, my irritation plain in my voice. The woman looked up at me in annoyance as though she'd been there for years. God, she was annoying!

"Have a nice day, Miss Monroe." The woman said as she handed me a plain navy blue case. I quickly flipped the case open only to reveal a rather bland golden badge with the American government eagle with the flag beneath it slightly and the words 'Special Agent' poured into a banner of gold. Okay, so it was pretty. Rather quickly I pulled out my own badge wallet and pinned the badge to the wallet, placing the wallet in my pocket.

Making my way to the elevator I paused at the doors. My reflection faced me, quick and clean. My near-red brown hair poured over my shoulders and between my shoulder blades, falling gently around my face. My eyes appeared blue as ever as I had disowned the plan of contacts. My body was shielded in a set of taut black slacks with a white oxford shirt, neatly tucked into the waistband of my pants. The sleeves on my shirt remained rolled to my elbows as my wedding ring remained in my pocket, a mere comfort to me. I never left home without it anymore.

I had decided upon keeping my boots and wearing them today. A ding echoed throughout the area as the doors of the elevator slid open, far too slow for my liking. The face of who I had once seen before now sat upon the frame of Leroy Jethro Gibbs within the confines of the elevator. "Hello, Mr. Gibbs," I greeted as I entered the elevator. Reaching across Gibbs I pressed a long black talon to the button just below the sixth floor in which Gibbs was headed to. My field was on the fifth floor.

"Good morning." Gibbs greeted as well as the doors slid closed. I waited (impatiently to be honest) for the elevator to open. Of course to me it seemed like forever. Finally the fifth floor doors opened and I stepped out with a final farewell to my brother's boss.

**A/N: **Look at my profile for explanation on why I haven't been updating in a while. But in short, I've been grounded from fanfiction and I have to sneak my chapters on now. I just Pray to freaking GOd that at least someone has been keeping in touch with my stories. I really want to keep on publishing stories so please, stick by me.


	14. Book II: Brothers and Suicides

I raised the jet-black camera to my eye, peering through the lens and at the body that stood before us. Clyde thought it was a suicide as the body hung from an average ceiling fan (okay, so not so average as it can actually hold up a 150 pound man) by a professional-appearing noose. I raised the camera lens to the noose, snapping away at it as I attempted to keep my hands still. I knew that the Flock had seen plenty of dead bodies and I've died enough but this…this was still a person. And from the looks of the apartment, it was somebody's father. Pictures of a small brunette girl chased the walls and tables as a similar brunette woman only spotted some of the pictures. The man himself was about six foot, slim and slightly…rugged?

He wore a pair of frayed and flocked pale jeans along with a set of tan cowboy boots and a black tank top. His biceps seemed pretty large and his face gave off his age at mid-forties. Tendrils of graying blonde hair swung down his face as scruff painted his chin ever so lightly. His eyes remained open, a set of cold and dead icy blues. This scared me as that was how Iggy's own eyes had once appeared yet he had only been blind; not dead. I shuddered at the mere thought as Sam beside me smirked.

"I know. The first bodies are always killer but you get used to it." Sam remarked as she lifted her own camera to her eye and began snapping away. I nodded, allowing the woman to think that this was what had chilled me. I stepped forward with a gloved hand reached out, reaching for his right hand. I glanced back up at the noose, examining it for just the briefest of seconds. Still my cheetah sight and memory kicked in, examining every nook and cranny. It wasn't hard to tell that it was tied by a left-handed person. I looked back to the man before me. "Jeff Wilkins, age 47; one daughter and an ex-wife; Olivia and Rhianna." Sam read off the brief history. "Retired Navy Seal," Sam read off, slapping the paper to her opposite hand in slight exasperation. It was a really brief summary.

I frowned at the body before me, reaching out a latex-gloved hand to move his left hand. Now, when I write with my right hand then I usually have this one layer of skin that indents into my ring finger and I'm guessing that's how it is for most people. But on this man's left hand was no indentation, no shiny layer of skin. Either he hadn't written in a while or he wasn't left-handed. I reached out my index and my middle finger, rubbing the bone on the ring finger of his left hand. This man was not left-handed; I was pretty positive. "Can't be a suicide," I muttered to myself as I glanced back up at the noose to reexamine the evidence.

This was most definitely not a suicide. But then what was it?

=e=E=e=

"When are you planning on confronting your brother, Ells?" Iggy asked as I slapped the pillows to the headboard. I glanced up at my husband, nibbling on my bottom lip. "Soon, Igs, soon," I assured Iggy as I attempted to straighten out the large bedding on the oversized bed. That was the only thing wrong with it; it was too difficult to make. "Okay, so next week? Next month?" Iggy questioned, rolling his hand to gesture for me to ANSWER! But I couldn't. I didn't know when I'd confront my brother. I was wondering if I would always chicken out like this. "What month is it?" I questioned Iggy as I attempted to flatten the silky bedding once more. With a sigh Iggy reached into his pocket, withdrawing the expensive iPhone that Drew had so kindly given us.

"It's August 26th today," Iggy announced to me, pocketing the phone after he had read aloud this tidbit. I frowned to myself, thinking. I was turning sixteen in less than a month. "I'll tell him September 24th," I announced to my husband with a slight tone of confidence. "Okay, little Miss Random," Iggy chuckled as he finally managed to straighten out his end of the bed. But mine was NOT COOPERATING! Every time I attempted to smooth out the wrinkles, it just came hand-in-hand with another wrinkle or fold or some massive mistake. Iggy snickered as he glared at my end of the bed, at each wrinkle and fold that was irritating the fuck out of me.

Finally with a sigh Iggy rounded the bed, heading in my direction so he could stand behind me. I grinned at the intimate way that Iggy clasped his hands around my own hands and smoothed my palms over the silky sheets. "Damn," I muttered as the sheets gave way instantly, melting beneath the power that was Iggy. "Look who's so smooth," I breathed as I turned in Iggy's arms to face him. Iggy grinned beneath my grips as I reached my hands out from beneath his hands and wrapped them around on top of Iggy's own hands. I felt my way up the gruff skin of his blazer, my palms barely grazing the skin as Iggy gave a shudder beneath my touch. "Did you know…?" I trailed off as I reached up to peck Iggy's molten hot lips, slightly grazing the early stage stubble on his chin. "That I love you?" I finished in a breath as I grasped Iggy's shoulders. And boy was I so underestimating this.

**Next Day/Ellie PoV:**

I glared at my mirror as I stood before it. I was certainly feeling the depression of modern routine as I stood before the mirror, only in the black lace panties and bra. My hair fell in damp tendrils along my shoulders in a mass of auburn as I wished that it would just go back to its original blonde. I didn't like brunette so much anymore. My eyes had gotten lighter somehow, a cold stony stylus upon whites and ebony dots. My face still appeared youthful yet not so much to blow my cover. My chin was pointed, darting downwards yet leading to rounded cheeks and high cheekbones. I definitely had good bone structure. My face wasn't that large; in fact it appeared just as small as I was.

My entire body appeared petite, fragile before the mirror. However I could never be broken. My mind trailed back to my time in Itex, where Monroe Gunderson had personally made my life a living hell yet for not nearly as long as the Flock's own personal hells. No, I was such a baby. I spent three days in that hellhole; they spent their entire lives there. I hadn't had what they had; no wings grafted to my back, no constant painful experiments, no traumatizing scenes of dying experiments. None of that was mine; it was all theirs. Iggy; my beautiful, hard, stony, strong, cured Iggy had gone through all that. He had seen too much before his sight had been taken from him. He had heard too much. He had felt too much pain. I just wanted to take him away from work and lock him up in a room with all luxuries just so that he could never hurt again. I didn't want to cause him any more pain.

I was restraining Iggy from his life. He was meant to fly, to be free and I was making him go to NCIS and making him go through the torturous scenes like I had seen yesterday. I shut my eyes against the painful tears as I felt the sudden absence of…anyone. Iggy had gone to work and no one else lived here. I found myself missing the Flock's presence; even Angel's creepiness. I was going to be early for work even if I didn't leave for another hour. I was just acting ridiculous. I ignored the pang of loneliness in me as I reached into my closet and retracted my loveliest outfit that seemed appropriate for work.

The pleated skirt was long enough to be professional yet short enough to be casual in all of its ebony glory. I retracted a smoky black denim corset from my closet and a darker shade of black cotton cardigan. I pulled the skirt on then the corset and began to lace it up, the black satin ribbon shining against the denim. I finally pulled on my high heeled boots, deciding against professional. Ever since I had gained my cheetah abilities, the heels hadn't hurt one bit and I had learned just how to run in these with no trouble whatsoever. Finally I peered at the mirror, debating whether to wear makeup or no. I decided not to as I headed to the bathroom to dry my hair officially and decided against the cardigan. Whipping the cardigan to the bed I returned to the bathroom and dried my hair. The shade of brown, red and black mix seemed so light against the clothes yet I couldn't be bothered. I quickly plaited my rapidly growing hair down my back as it had reached mid-waist by now.

Strands and picks dangled before my face, not bothering me and leaving it to appear fantastic. Adding just a dab of blush and eyeliner I found myself admiring how I looked today. It was daring and bold, not quite so positive. Finally I returned to the bedroom, grabbing hold of my badge, ID tag and finally my gun. The gun was the hardest I could do as each time I picked it up, the Government Issue gun would ring out through my head, seemingly causing me to momentarily hallucinate with the memories of my own shootings. Each bullet hole stung through my skin, the scars too light for humans to catch. Still they seemed to remind me constantly of my newfound fear of guns.

I tucked the gun securely into the ankle of my boot, securely hiding it from sight and tucked the badge wallet in the opposite leg. Finally I clipped my ID tag to my skirt's waistband and began out, feeling newly confident. This didn't help the loneliness though.

=e=E=e=

Mel would know.

I'm just saying that Melinda Gunderson, though my fiercest enemy and odd lesbian admirer, would have understood how it feels to die a million times over and still live with a beating heart. My ebony nails clacked against the keyboard as I scanned through the pictures we had taken merely yesterday. Ducky was snipping open Mr. Jeff Wilkins downstairs as we spoke and had recently found bruises along the arms to indicate a struggle. I felt bad for poor Olivia, having her father ripped away so badly. It was horrible for her to go through this alone.

My pictures of the noose came up to screen, batting my attention away from my thoughts as I chose to examine the noose more attentively with the zoom-in feature. The rope appeared rough, harsh however I was still staring at the knot at the tie at the top of the noose, just above Jeff's head. It was secured too tightly for my taste as I could just barely see purple mars against Jeff's neck to indicate the bruising of the noose. The stub fell to the left side, indicating a left-handed creator. I flipped my photos to Jeff's arms, examining the appearing bruises. They appeared large, definitely not made by a tiny person like me.

I reached down, plucking my orange from the brown paper bag upon my desk. I bit tautly into the fruit, clicking the arrow key for the next picture. I jumped as the picture appeared on a close-up on the victim's eyes, the dead, icy blue eyes. I sighed a brief sigh of relief as I un-zoomed the picture. It was bad enough that the screen appeared lightly pixilated with my adjusting eyes but I did not need another close up of that. My eyes roamed the picture of Jeff Wilkins's face from the forehead to the collarbone, his face tilted as his head bobbed and slacked.

Finally my eyes caught sight of his neck and I turned to it, feeling a slight turn in my stomach. Just enough for my cheetah sight to catch I caught hold of the sight of just the teeniest, tiniest pinprick among his neck. I finally zoomed in, ignoring the folds that showed his age and headed straight for the pinprick; needle-point. This man was sedated when he was hung. But if so then where did the struggle-bruises come from?

"Excuse me; can you tell me where I can find one Elizabeth Monroe?" Someone asked far behind me, possibly at the elevator doors. I frowned to myself; it was probably just a package sent from Drew. "Oh, _definitely_; she's the last desk to the right." Sam's familiar voice answered so I'm assuming he was hot. I could practically hear her Cheshire grin from here! The man's footsteps echoed closer, giving me about a right accurate estimate of how much he weighed….three hundred….four hundred pounds?

"Excuse me," The man said as he placed a bulky hand on my shoulder. I frowned at the shoulder before standing up and turning to face him. The man was definitely large with a huge potbelly, wearing a wide black suit. His face was chubby with a couple chins and his eyes were a frightening stony hazel with a scar running down the left side of his face, running directly over his eye and down to his lips. He did not look very nice. I still managed to grin at the man politely.

"Yes?" I answered as lightly as I could, hoping to not show any intimidation. The man looked directly at me, unsmiling. Sam had some weird taste… "Are you Elizabeth Monroe?" He asked. I merely nodded. "And you are working on the Wilkins case…?" The man asked. I frowned at him, instantly pulling myself further up. "Yes." I stated calmly. "So…you were the one to say that this was murder, not suicide…" This time it wasn't a question. "Were you a friend of his…?" I asked through my teeth, confused as all living hell. I thought for a moment that he'd been an ex-agent for Itex and had come for revenge. "No way in fucking hell," The man hissed at me. He reached up, pointing a finger to the scar on his face. "He gave me this scar after he raped my daughter." He hissed. Now this clearly shocked me.

"I say whoever the hell killed the bastard deserves a reward." The man hissed. I frowned as I glanced back at the pictures on my computer. "I hope you do understand that with those words, you're gonna most likely be our number one suspect." I informed him. A snort escaped the man as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Okay, so he was starting to get on my nerves. "I don't care. I honestly wish I'd been the one to kill him but trust me when I say that I didn't. If I did you know I'd be out at the bar gloating." The man assured me. "I'll need you to write your name, number and address down." I told the man as I reached over to my desk, pulling out a Post-It from the stack. "Sure thing, missy," The man grumbled as he snatched up one of my pens and popped the button.

I waited as he wrote his name on the Post-It. Then with that he left. He didn't say one word as he walked calmly and smoothly to the elevator as if he wasn't about three hundred pounds. So here is this…what the FUCK?

=e=E=e=

"So, that was it?" Iggy asked as he threw himself onto the bed. I rolled my eyes as I dropped down at the end of the bed. "The victim raped his daughter, Igs. I don't know if I should arrest the bitch who killed Wilkins or give him an award." I responded to Iggy. He merely shrugged as he patted the spot beside him against the large pillows. I turned around, crawling until I was safely cuddled into Iggy's chest. I shut my eyes to relish the moment. I didn't want anyone taking this moment away but someone did.

Iggy and I both groaned at the knock at the door before I managed to slap Iggy in the stomach. "I don't want to answer it." I groaned to Iggy as I turned over on the bed, my stomach touching the sheets. I had actually chosen a nice black satin nightgown instead of just underwear. It was ridiculous how nice it felt. And so I went without underwear tonight. And that, my dear readers, would drive Iggy crazy for the entire night if he didn't get some.

Iggy rolled his eyes before he managed to stumble out of the bed and to the door. He was definitely a nice view in only a set of blue and white plaid pajama bottoms and nothing else. His back was strong beneath his beautiful golden wings and made me want to just take him then and there. He fumbled with the top drawer of the dresser until he found a nice gray V-neck and pulled it on. "You're beautiful," I managed to breathe as a smile crawled onto my face. Iggy smirked back at me as he pushed his glasses on his nose. "Then you're contagious," he answered. I grinned at that as I couldn't get enough of his compliments.

Before Iggy no one had ever called me beautiful in that way before. No one had called me "contagious" in such a good way. And no one, sure as hell, had ever looked at me that very way that Iggy does. God, I love my husband.

Just after I heard the creak of the door opening the shouting started. "WHERE IS SHE?" Oh, fuck. I jumped, surprised but not enough to be shocked, from the bed (and trust me when I say that's pretty hard to do). I fumbled through my closet before finding my robe; a nice satin piece that fell all around me. I didn't bother tying it in fear that my brother would shoot Iggy before I got there. And when I burst through the door, there was absolutely nothing but a very, very enraged brother in the doorway.

My brother found out.

**Hmm….well, I guess I'll just load this one up as chapter 14. But do you like it? I couldn't stand Josh not knowing any longer and it was getting too mediocre anyways. So I decided to shift things back to the way they should be; COMPLETELY INSANE!**


End file.
